Investing.com - Silver futures spiked to levels not seen since July 2014 on Monday, while gold stayed near the strongest level in more than two years, as bullish momentum in the precious metals complex remained intact.
Silver for September delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange spiked by more than 6% to hit a daily high of $21.22 a troy ounce, the most in two years, before giving back some gains to trade at $20.62 by 12:35GMT, or 8:35AM ET, up $1.03, or 5.32%.
Silver prices soared $1.75, or 9.87%, last week, its best weekly performance since August 2013.
Also on the Comex, gold for August delivery rose to an intraday peak of $1,360.30 a troy ounce before falling back to $1,354.00, up $15.00, or 1.15%.
Gold jumped $16.70, or 1.27%, last week, the fifth straight weekly gain. The precious metal rose almost 9% in June, its biggest monthly increase since February. Prices are up nearly 25% so far this year, completing one of its strongest first halves on record.
Volumes were expected to be thin, as U.S. stock markets are closed for the Independence Day holiday. Trading in metals futures will close at 1:00PM ET.
Precious metals have been well-supported in recent sessions amid growing expectations that central banks around the world will step up monetary stimulus in the near-term to counteract the negative economic shock from the Brexit vote.
Investors were also betting that the Federal Reserve would hold off on raising interest rates this year, instead of doing so twice as officials had projected.
Elsewhere, copper futures tacked on 2.3 cents, or 1.04%, to $2.240 a pound during morning hours in London on hopes policymakers in China would unleash more stimulus to prop up a sluggish economy, brightening the outlook for raw material demand.
In the week ahead, market players will be shifting their attention slightly away from Brexit-related headlines and more towards economic fundamentals and U.S. monetary policy, with the June nonfarm payrolls report and FOMC meeting minutes in the spotlight. There is also ISM services data on Wednesday.