IV:Silver futures edge lower as U.S. dollar regains strength
Investing.com - Silver futures were lower on Thursday, as the U.S. dollar index clawed back from a six-week low hit during the previous session.
Silver’s losses were limited after the Federal Reserve gave no indications on whether it will begin to taper its stimulus program in the near future.
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.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver futures for September delivery traded at USD19.55 a troy ounce during European morning trade, down 0.4%.
Silver prices were likely to find support at USD19.36 a troy ounce, Wednesday’s low and resistance at USD20.18, the high from July 29.
Silver prices struggled for upside traction due to a slightly 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 0.5% to trade at 82.16.
On Wednesday, the gauge fell to 81.48, the lowest level since June 20, after the Fed gave no hint of plans to taper its USD85 billion-a-month bond-buying program.
Market players now looked ahead to highly-anticipated data on U.S. nonfarm payrolls due on Friday for indications of how the recovery in the U.S. labor market is progressing.
The September contract settled down 0.25% at USD19.62 a troy ounce on Wednesday, after official data showed that the U.S. economy grew more-than-expected in the second quarter of 2012.
The Commerce Department said that gross domestic product grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.7% in the three months to June, beating expectations for growth of 1%.
The robust GDP data came after payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 200,000 in July, above expectations for an increase of 180,000.
Investors have closely been looking out for data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Fed to reduce its bond purchases.
Any improvement in the U.S. economy was likely to reinforce the view that the Federal Reserve will begin to taper its bond purchase program in the coming months.
Silver prices are on track to post a loss of almost 34% on the year, amid speculation the Fed will start to unwind its bond purchasing program in the coming months.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for December delivery rose 0.4% to trade at USD1,317.85 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery added 0.6% to trade at USD3.137 a pound.
Earlier in the day, a government report showed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose unexpectedly to 50.3 in July from 50.1 in June.
Above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
However, the official data differed from the final reading of the HSBC China Purchasing Managers Index, which hit an 11-month low of 47.7 in July.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
