Investing.com - Silver prices traded near the lowest level since August on Monday, as investors looked ahead to key U.S. economic data later in the day to gauge the strength of the economy and the need for stimulus. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver futures for March delivery traded at USD19.73 a troy ounce during European morning trade, down 1.5%. Comex silver prices held in a range between USD19.67 a troy ounce and USD19.98 a troy. The March contract settled 1.78% higher on Friday to end at USD20.03 a troy ounce. Comex silver fell to USD19.62 a troy ounce on November 25, the lowest since August 8. Futures were likely to find support at USD19.62 a troy ounce, the low from November 25 and resistance at USD20.10, the high from November 29. Bearish sentiment on the precious metals complex remained intact after minutes of the Fed’s October meeting said the central bank could start scaling back its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program in the “coming months� if the economy continues to improve as expected. The Institute of Supply Management was to release its manufacturing PMI later in the day. Investors are also focusing on Thursday’s third quarter gross domestic product report as well as Friday’s November nonfarm payrolls report. The Fed, which holds its next meeting on December 17-18, has said the timing of its tapering depends on the health of the labor and housing markets. Silver prices lost 8.8% in November, the biggest monthly decline since June, as solid U.S. economic data underlined expectations the Fed will begin curbing stimulus. Silver is down approximately 35% this year. Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for February delivery fell 0.9% to trade at USD1,238.90 a troy ounce, while copper for March delivery dipped 0.4% to trade at USD3.192 a pound.

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