IV:Silver futures edge lower ahead of Bernanke testimony
Investing.com - Silver futures edged lower on Wednesday, as the U.S. dollar strengthened ahead testimony on monetary policy by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the day.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver futures for September delivery traded at USD19.81 a troy ounce during European morning trade, down 0.6% on the day.
Comex silver prices held in a range between USD19.75 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD19.98 a troy ounce.
Silver prices were likely to find support at USD18.98 a troy ounce, the low from July 10 and resistance at USD20.24, the high from July 11.
Silver prices struggled for upside traction due to a broadly stronger U.S. dollar, as dollar-priced commodities become more expensive to investors holding other currencies when the greenback gains.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.2% to trade at 82.80.
Market participants looked ahead to Bernanke's testimony on monetary policy amid speculation over the timing of a possible reduction to the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program.
Silver prices rallied 5.2% last week after Bernanke said the Fed will continue to maintain accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future.
Investors also looked ahead to the release of key U.S. data on housing starts and building permits later in the day.
Any improvement in U.S. economic activity could scale back expectations for further easing, boosting the dollar and weighing on silver.
Silver prices are on track to post a loss of almost 33% on the year, amid speculation the Fed will start to unwind its bond purchasing program in the coming months.
Moves in the silver price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would end its bond-buying program sooner-than-expected.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for August delivery dipped 0.3% to trade at USD1,286.45 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery dropped 1.2% to trade at USD3.149 a pound.
