Silver maintained its recent gains to around $34.8 per ounce on Tuesday, holding at its highest level in nearly 12 years as uncertainty surrounding the US election, Middle East tensions and bets on further monetary easing fuelled safe-haven demand for the precious metal.
Expectations of stronger industrial demand for silver, which is a key component used in solar panels, as the world shifts to cleaner energy, also boosted prices. In addition, top metals consumer China has recently introduced a series of stimulus measures to revive economic growth. Earlier this week, the People’s Bank of China cut its one- and five-year lending rates by 25 basis points to 3.1% and 3.6% respectively. On Friday, the PBOC also moved to support Chinese equity markets and announced that it may lower bank reserve requirements again before the year ends.
The main catalyst behind the recent rally has been rising retail demand for silver, which has become an attractive asset for investors seeking protection against ongoing changes in monetary policy.
As global central banks signal a shift towards a more accommodative stance, investors are increasingly looking at silver as a cost-effective hedge against inflation and currency devaluation. This trend is particularly evident in the context of silver’s price performance relative to gold.
While gold recently reached a record high of $2,748 per ounce, silver is still well below its all-time high of $49.78, reached in April 2011, indicating further appreciation potential. Investor sentiment has also been supported by recent developments in China, where authorities have imposed aggressive monetary measures aimed at revitalising the economy. These measures are expected to stimulate economic activity, which is likely to boost actual demand for silver and other industrial metals in the coming months.
Demand for gold and silver as a store of value was also strong, due to expectations that whoever wins the US presidential election next month, fiscal spending will rise and increase the budget deficit. Moreover, dovish comments from ECB President Lagarde on Tuesday were bullish for the precious metal, when she said the direction of interest rate movements in the Eurozone is clear.
From a technical perspective, XAGUSD has successfully broken the resistance line of the bullish pennant pattern, confirming the positive implications of this technical setup. The current bullish trajectory suggests that silver could reach the FE100% projection level of $36 from the $11.63 – $30.07 and $17.b54 drawdowns. The move above the 52-week EMA informs that the ongoing bullish trend might last even longer, as long as the $32.49 resistance that is now switching to function as support holds. Given the current dynamics, the outlook for silver is still bullish.
The possibility of a short-term correction, however, remains valid due to profit-taking.
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Ady Phangestu
Market Analyst
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