Silver Prices Tread Water As Dollar Bargain Build Up

Silver Prices Tread Water As Dollar Bargain Build Up

Silver prices were little changed Tuesday, as precious metals held near recent highs following another sharp decline in the U.S. dollar.May silver futures were trading at $17.43 a troy ounce at 7:34 a.m. ET, virtually unchanged from the prior session’s close. The metal traded within a daily range of $17.34 and $17.48 a troy ounce through the overnight session. Prices have been in a holding pattern since the start of the week, as investors await fresh trading catalysts in the form of economic data and monetary policy speculation. April gold futures were also treading water Tuesday. The contract was last seen trading at $1,233.20 a troy ounce. Prices fluctuated between $1,226.60 and $1,235.20 a troy ounce. The U.S. dollar declined sharply against a basket of other major currencies, as the post-FOMC unraveling continued. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other peers, fell 0.6% to 99.82. That’s the lowest level since early February.The greenback declined sharply against the euro and British pound. It was also trading lower against its Canadian counterpart. In economic data, consumer inflation in the United Kingdom gathered pace in February, rising at the fastest level since September 2013. The consumer price index accelerated 2.3% in the 12 months through February, following a 1.8% increase the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said in a report on Tuesday. Inflation is now above the Bank of England’s (BOE) target of 2% for the first time since 2013.
Factory gate prices, as measured by the producer price index, strengthened 3.7% annually, official data showed.