Silver Retreats From Record High Ahead of Key US Economic Data
Silver whipsawed, rising to a record high before pulling back ahead of a raft of US economic data. Gold was steady.
The white metal fell as much as 1.6%, having spiked to a peak of $58.9471 an ounce earlier. Investors are awaiting numbers delayed by a government shutdown to gain a clearer picture of the health of the US economy. Jobs and industrial production data are due later on Wednesday.
In the near term, traders have priced in an interest-rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting. A new Fed chair is also expected to mirror President Donald Trump’s dovish stance on monetary easing, with recent gains in precious metals reflecting the potential for more rate cuts after Jerome Powell’s term ends in May. Lower rates tend to benefit gold and silver, which do not yield interest.
Silver has also been supported by a wave of speculative money betting on supply tightness. A record volume of the metal flowed into London last month, putting pressure on other hubs. Inventories in warehouses linked to the Shanghai Futures Exchange recently shrunk to the lowest in a decade.
Holdings by silver-backed exchange-traded funds rose by about 200 tons on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg calculations, underscoring enduring investor interest in the metal. That brought the total holdings to the highest since 2022.
“Fast-money traders love markets where pullbacks stay shallow because the physical side keeps tightening every dip,” said Ahmad Assiri, a strategist at Pepperstone Group Ltd.
Silver was down 0.5% at $58.1520 an ounce as of 10:30 a.m London time. Gold was steady at $4,208.23 an ounce after a two-day decline. Palladium and Platinum both dropped. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat.
Source : Bloomberg.com
