Investing.com - Silver futures rose sharply on Thursday, tracking strong gains in gold prices as disappointing U.S. economic data weighed on the U.S. dollar, boosting dollar-denominated commodities.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.45% to trade at 82.69.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver futures for May delivery traded at USD23.25 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 1.85% on the day.
Comex silver prices rose by as much as 2.6% earlier in the session to hit a daily high of USD23.45 a troy ounce.
Silver prices were likely to find support at USD22.47 a troy ounce, the low from April 18 and near-term resistance at USD23.69, the high from April 22.
Silver’s gains came as the U.S. dollar weakened against most of its major counterparts as downbeat U.S. data on Wednesday pressured demand for the greenback.
Official data on Wednesday showed that U.S. durable goods orders dropped 5.7% in March, much worse than expectations for a decline of 2.8%.
Core durable goods orders, which exclude transportation items, fell 1.4%, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase.
The disappointing data fuelled expectations the Federal Reserve will keep its loose monetary policy in place for the indefinite future.
Investors now looked ahead to the weekly government report on initial jobless claims later in the trading day to further asses the strength of the country’s economy.
Market players are also eying Friday’s U.S. data on first quarter growth.
Any improvement in the U.S. economy could scale back expectations for further easing from the Fed.
Silver prices were also supported amid growing expectations the European Central Bank will cut interest rates at its meeting next month to spur economic activity and boost growth in the euro zone.
Silver, like gold, can benefit from such an environment of easy money because of expectations that ample liquidity would put a damper on the value of paper currencies.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for June delivery rose 1.4% to trade at USD1,443635 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery rallied 1% to trade at USD3.187 a pound.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.45% to trade at 82.69.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver futures for May delivery traded at USD23.25 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 1.85% on the day.
Comex silver prices rose by as much as 2.6% earlier in the session to hit a daily high of USD23.45 a troy ounce.
Silver prices were likely to find support at USD22.47 a troy ounce, the low from April 18 and near-term resistance at USD23.69, the high from April 22.
Silver’s gains came as the U.S. dollar weakened against most of its major counterparts as downbeat U.S. data on Wednesday pressured demand for the greenback.
Official data on Wednesday showed that U.S. durable goods orders dropped 5.7% in March, much worse than expectations for a decline of 2.8%.
Core durable goods orders, which exclude transportation items, fell 1.4%, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase.
The disappointing data fuelled expectations the Federal Reserve will keep its loose monetary policy in place for the indefinite future.
Investors now looked ahead to the weekly government report on initial jobless claims later in the trading day to further asses the strength of the country’s economy.
Market players are also eying Friday’s U.S. data on first quarter growth.
Any improvement in the U.S. economy could scale back expectations for further easing from the Fed.
Silver prices were also supported amid growing expectations the European Central Bank will cut interest rates at its meeting next month to spur economic activity and boost growth in the euro zone.
Silver, like gold, can benefit from such an environment of easy money because of expectations that ample liquidity would put a damper on the value of paper currencies.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for June delivery rose 1.4% to trade at USD1,443635 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery rallied 1% to trade at USD3.187 a pound.