By Barani Krishnan
Investing.com - After gold futures’ shot at nine-year highs, it was bullion’s turn on Monday to reach 2011 peaks. But the real story of the day in precious metals was in silver, which hit four-year peaks in a rally many thought was long overdue.
Silver futures on New York’s Comex settled up 42.8 cents, or 2.2%, at $20.192 per ounce after reaching $20.297 earlier, its highest since August 2016.
“For silver, $20 was a forgone conclusion”, Eli Tesfaye, metals strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago, told Investing.com, although he admitted that it had taken longer than thought for the milestone to be achieved.
“If the Dollar Index breaks below 95, we could see silver accelerate even much higher,” Tesfaye said, referring to the currency basket that pegged the greenback against six competitors led by the euro. “Silver’s path of least resistance is up and strong equities are helping as well.”
But typical of a post-rally environment, silver could be “poised for some profit taking after this”, Tesfaye added.
That was in line with what some analysts have been saying.
While silver was pulled higher by the momentum in gold, for it to keep advancing like gold many traders expected the white metal to keep up with its industrial demand. Silver’s biggest new use is in the manufacture of conductors for 5G cellular technology, beyond the usual making of jewelry, cutlery and coins.
“Industrial demand for silver is still a bit of a question, so I think that might be one of the main reasons that silver is dragging a bit,” Christopher Lewis, an independent precious metals analyst and contributor to FX Empire, said in an analysis two weeks ago.
Gold, meanwhile, was one up on silver in terms of demand and market acceptance. Although jewelry and other consumer uses also were important for gold, the yellow metal can often stand on its own as a safe-haven buy.
U.S. gold futures for August delivery on Comex settled up $7.40, or 0.4%, at $1,817.40 per ounce. Comex gold hit nine-year highs at $1,829.65 on July 8.
In Monday’s trade, it was the turn of spot gold to hit that milestone. The real-time indicator of bullion soared to $1,820.58, its highest since 2011. It then pared gains to trade up $5.73, or 0.3%, at $1,816.29 by 2:00 PM ET (18:00 GMT).