Silver prices declined in European trade on Friday, resuming losses after a hiatus yesterday, and almost touching four-week lows, while on track for another weekly loss amid mounting pressures on non-yielding assets.
Such pressures came as the dollar and US treasury yields increased following bullish remarks by several Fed officials, which bolstered the case for another US interest rate hike next month.
Silver Prices Today
Silver prices fell over 0.4% to $22.53 an ounce, after closing up 0.4% on Thursday, the first profit in four days away from four-week lows at $22.30.
Silver is down 2.9% so far this week, on track for the second weekly profit in three weeks, and the largest since mid-September.
The Dollar
The dollar index rose 0.1% on Friday, extending gains for the fifth straight session against a basket of major rivals.
Such gains came as US 10-year treasury yields rose for another session following bullish remarks by Fed officials.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday that was the Fed has done so far might not be enough to contain inflation, asserting the Fed is prepared to tighten policies further if needed.
Odds for a US interest rate hike in December rose from 9% to 15%.
Traders also now expect the Fed to cut interest rates in July 2024 instead of June 2024.
Sterling rose in European trade on Friday against a basket of major rivals, on track for the first profit in five sessions against the dollar following upbeat UK growth data.
Such data bolstered the case for another UK interest rate hike, and for interest rates to remain high for most of 2024.
GBP/USD
GBP/USD rose 0.1% to 1.2235, with a session-low at 1.2211, after falling 0.5% on Thursday, the fourth loss in a row, following bullish remarks by Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
UK Economy
Earlier London data showed the UK economy grew 0.2% in September, beating estimates of no growth.
The UK economy was flat in growth in the third quarter, beating estimates of a 0.1% contraction.
Such data shows the UK economy remains resilient despite soaringly high interest rates.
Bailey
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Wednesday it's still too early to talk about cutting interest rates in the UK, and that interest rates need to remain tight for an extended duration.
Bailey added that Bank of England is expectation inflation to take 2 years to return to the 2% targets.
UK Rates
Such data bolstered the cause for another Bank of England interest rate hike later this year, in turn underpinning the pound.
Most industrial metals lost ground on Thursday amid uncertainty about economic recovery in China, while the dollar lost ground.
Copper three-month futures fell 0.5% at the London Metals Exchange to $8099.5 a tonne as of 10:55 GMT.
Copper, used heavily in construction and energy, fell 0.9% so far this week, with analysts noting that weak Chinese data are contributing to the decline.
Copper breached the recent upward trend, and is now trading near the support of the 50-day SMA.
Chinese consumer prices recently slowed down again, while manufacturing took a dip, hurting the outlook of a proper recovery.
The data painted a mixed picture of Chinese economic performance, as exports and manufacturing slowed down in October, while imports unexpectedly grew.
Citibank said in a research paper that China's recovery from the Covid 19 fallout is very gradual amid continued weakness in the real estate sector and damaged confidence.
The dollar index rose today following bullish remarks by Fed officials, hurting dollar-denominated commodity futures.
At the London Metals Exchange, aluminium prices fell 1.1% to $2239 a tonne, while nickel fell 1.4% to $17845, as Zinc fell 0.7% to $2592, while lead settled at $2190.
Otherwise, the dollar index fell 0.1% as of 16:44 GMT to 105.5, with a session-high at 105.7, and a low at 105.3.
Nickel spot prices rose 1.6% as of 16:55 GMT to $17.9 thousand a tonne.
Oil prices rose on Thursday for the first session in three days, holding above four-month lows on active short-covering.
The gains came despite mounting negative pressure on the oil market as US and Chinese demand weakens while the dollar gains ground.
Global Oil Prices
US crude rose 0.9% to $76.26 a barrel, while Brent added 1.1% to $80.50 a barrel.
US crude lost 2% on Wednesday, marking a four-month trough at $74.96, while Brent shed 2.1% to $79.24 a barrel, the lowest since July 20.
US Stocks
Initial data from the American Petroleum Institute showed US commercial crude stocks rose 12 million barrels in the week ending November 3, the second weekly increase in a row.
Thus total stocks rose to 444 million barrels, the highest since mid August.
Now traders await official EIA data on inventories, expected to show a buildup of 1.5 million barrels.
Chinese Demand
Earlier Chinese data showed producer prices shrank in October, as consumer prices also shrank for the first time in three months in another sign of economic contraction in China.
Recent official data showed Chinese imports contracted faster than expected in October, another sign of slower economic growth in the world's second largest fuel consumer.
The data also showed growth in China's crude exports, but such growth might not be sustained as demand is expected to taper off.
Traders expect refinery operations to slow down in China during November and December, which could hurt crude demand.
The Dollar
The dollar index rose 0.15% on Thursday on track for the fourth profit in a row against a basket of major rivals, pressuring dollar-denominated commodities.
The gains came following a spate of bullish remarks by several Fed officials, which bolstered the case for another 0.25% interest rate hike next month.