Silver Price News: Silver Slides on Economic Uncertainty

Silver prices fell 2% on Tuesday, taking a lead from weaker gold prices as profit-taking became the order of the day.

Prices fell as low as $31.34 an ounce on Tuesday, down from around $32.30 an ounce in late trades on Monday.

Silver took a directional lead from gold prices on Tuesday, which came under selling pressure after hitting a fresh all-time high on Monday.

Industrial demand looking less certain

Recent uncertainty over the economic impact of US trade tariffs has arguably had a more supportive effect for gold than silver, as gold is seen as a clear safe-haven asset, while silver plays a dual role as both a precious and industrial metal. The prospect of disrupted supply chains and declining international trade volumes has raised concerns about global industrial demand for silver, weighing on sentiment.

Technical analysis

Silver’s drop on Tuesday was the third straight day of losses, and represented a test of descending oblique major support at $31.57 and ascending oblique minor support at $31.48 an ounce. Prices ultimately held just above those levels by Tuesday evening, but this will now be a critical area to watch for future price direction. Further losses could bring into focus a lower support level of $29.97 an ounce.

Upcoming data

Looking ahead, the markets will be keeping an eye on Thursday’s Euro Area economic sentiment figures and ECB monetary policy meeting accounts for any signals on the trajectory for future interest rates in Europe. Thursday will also see US durable goods orders, Q4 GDP growth figures and weekly initial jobless claims figures, for the latest snapshot on the US economy. Beyond that, eyes will turn to Friday’s US PCE price index figures for January – the US Fed’s preferred measure of inflation – as the markets try to gauge the likelihood of further interest rate cuts this year.