IV:Silver declines with Fed stimulus in focus, ECB meeting eyed
Investing.com - Silver futures edged lower in rangebound trade on Thursday, as markets eyed the release of U.S. employment data later in the day, amid growing uncertainty over the future of the Federal Reserve's stimulus program.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver futures for July delivery traded at USD22.34 a troy ounce during European morning trade, down 0.6% on the day.
Comex silver prices traded in a range between USD22.26 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD22.50 a troy ounce.
Silver prices were likely to find support at USD21.92 a troy ounce, the low from May 23 and resistance at USD23.05, the high from May 30.
Market players were awaiting data on U.S. jobless claims later in the session to assess the strength of the U.S. economy and the need for further stimulus from the Federal Reserve.
Data on Wednesday showed that the U.S. private sector added fewer-than-expected jobs in May, dampening expectations that the U.S. central bank would start to unwind its asset purchase program this year.
Payroll processor ADP said U.S. non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 135,000 last month, below expectations for an increase of 165,000.
Moves in the silver price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the Federal Reserve would end its bond-buying program sooner-than-expected.
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.
Market players also looked ahead to the European Central Bank meeting later in the session.
The ECB was not widely expected to make any changes to monetary policy at its monthly meeting later Thursday but the bank’s post-policy meeting press conference with President Mario Draghi would be closely watched.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for August delivery eased down 0.2% to trade at USD1,395.95 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery fell 0.95% to trade at USD3.339 a pound.