Investing.com - Silver prices were lower on the final trading day of the year on Tuesday, with the precious metal heading for its worse annual loss since 1981.
Trading volumes are expected to remain light as many investors already closed books before the end of the year.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver futures for March delivery traded at USD19.50 a troy ounce during European morning trade, down 0.6%. Comex silver prices fell by as much as 1.2% earlier in the session to hit USD19.38 a troy ounce, the lowest since December 24.
Futures were likely to find support at USD19.13 a troy ounce, the low from December 20 and resistance at USD20.15, the high from December 30. Silver prices settled 2.16% lower on Monday to end at USD19.61 a troy ounce.
Silver is down approximately 36% this year, on track for its biggest yearly loss in more than 30 years, as solid U.S. economic data underlined expectations the Federal Reserve will begin curbing stimulus.
Meanwhile, gold futures for February delivery fell 0.3% to trade at USD1,199.90 a troy ounce. Comex gold prices lost nearly 29% in 2013, on track for its first yearly loss in 13 years and the worst since 1981.
Market players looked ahead to U.S. data on consumer confidence and manufacturing activity in the Chicago region later in the day, to gauge if the U.S. economy will be strong enough to allow the Fed to continue withdrawing support through 2014.
The U.S. central bank said earlier this month that it will start reducing its bond-buying stimulus program by USD10 billion a month in January, amid indications of an improving U.S. economy.
Some market participants believe the Fed will likely reduce its bond purchases by USD10 billion in each of its next seven meetings before ending the program in December 2014.
Elsewhere on the Comex, copper for March delivery inched up 0.15% to trade at USD3.387 a pound.
Copper prices have been well-supported in recent weeks amid indications the U.S. economic recovery is deepening. The U.S. is second behind China in global copper demand.
Prices of the industrial metal are on track to post a gain of nearly 4.5% in December, but are still approximately 8% lower in the year to date.
