Silver on track for fourth weekly loss in row

Silver prices rose in European trade on Friday on track for the second daily profit away from a five-week trough, while the dollar slows down.

The white metal is heading for the fourth weekly loss in a row on concerns about demand in China, the world's largest metals consumer. 

Prices Today

Silver prices rose 0.45% to $22.80 an ounce, with a session-low at $22.66, after rising 0.2% on Thursday, the first profit in four days away from a five-week trough at $22.62.

The Dollar

The dollar index fell 0.2% on Friday against a basket of major rivals, in turn boosting dollar-denominated commodities such as silver.

Such a decline comes ahead of crucial US data later today, including producer prices for July, and the University of Michigan's economic confidence survey.

Weekly Trading

Silver is up 3.6% so far this week, on track for the fourth weekly loss in a row, the longest  such streak of weekly losses since January.

Such heavy losses come amid concerns about declining demand in China and low investments in the non-yielding metal as US bond yields rally.

Chinese Demand

China marked the worst decline in its exports last month, since February 2020 according to official data.

US commodity sales in foreign markets also tumbled 14.5% in July, the third such monthly decline in a row.

The prospects of a potential recession in the US and Europe in turn hurt global demand on Chinese products in recent months.

The Chinese economy itself is still suffering the consequences of the long Covid 19 shutdowns. 

Investment Demand

As dollar and US treasury yields rally, they attract investments away from silver and gold, with markets still speculating about another Fed rate hike this year.