During Thursday’s Asian trading hours, the price of silver retraced slightly to approximately $28.90 per troy ounce. Despite this minor pullback, the silver market saw gains driven by the dovish sentiment surrounding the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy outlook. The Fed opted to maintain interest rates within the 5.25%-5.50% range during its July meeting on Wednesday, a decision that is anticipated to boost the attractiveness of non-yielding assets like silver in the market.
Following the interest rate decision, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, in a press conference, hinted at the possibility of a rate cut in September, stating that such a move is “on the table.” Powell emphasized the Fed’s commitment to closely monitoring the labor market and staying alert to indicators of a potential economic downturn, as reported by Reuters.
On the economic front, the US ADP Employment Change for July showed an increase of 122,000 jobs, with annual pay rising by 4.8% year-over-year. This figure, released on Wednesday, fell short of market expectations of 150,000 jobs and followed a revised increase of 155,000 jobs in June. Traders are now awaiting further guidance from upcoming US economic data releases, including the ISM Manufacturing PMI and the weekly Initial Jobless Claims, scheduled for later on Thursday.
In addition to monetary policy and economic data, silver prices have also found support from escalating geopolitical tensions. The recent assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran has raised concerns, with reports from the New York Times indicating that Haniyeh was killed in Tehran after attending the new president’s inauguration. Both Iranian officials and Hamas have accused Israel of orchestrating the attack, prompting Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to call for direct retaliation against Israel. These geopolitical developments have further bolstered the safe-haven appeal of silver in the market.
