Investing.com - Silver futures were higher on Wednesday, as market players looked ahead to testimony on the economic outlook and monetary policy by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver futures for July delivery traded at USD22.59 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 0.6% on the day. Comex silver prices rose by as much as 0.9% earlier in the session to hit a daily high of USD22.66 a troy ounce. Silver prices were likely to find support at USD22.06 a troy ounce, the low from May 16 and resistance at USD23.12, Monday’s high. Investors remained cautious ahead testimony at the U.S. Joint Economic Committee by Ben Bernanke, amid speculation over whether the U.S. central bank will begin to scale back its asset purchase program this year. The minutes of the Fed’s May meeting are to be released later in the trading day. On Tuesday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the Fed should continue its bond buying and make adjustments as the economy changes. Comments by New York Fed President William Dudley were also interpreted as suggesting the central bank wasn’t about to taper off its bond-purchase program. Bullard and Dudley will both vote at the central bank's next scheduled meeting on June 18-19. 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. Gains were limited by a shaky technical outlook. Silver prices plunged to a three-year low of USD20.21 a troy ounce on Monday. Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for June delivery was up 0.55% to trade at USD1,385.05 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery rallied 1.3% to trade at USD3.387 a pound.

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