Silver surges to highest settlement in 11 years, gold jumps as U.S. inflation cools
May 15, 2024 6:10 PM ET
By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor
 monsitj/iStock via Getty Images
Gold futures rose to a nearly one-month high Wednesday, and silver jumped to its best settlement in more than 11 years, as U.S. government data that showed consumer prices rising less than expected in April fueled expectations for interest rate cuts this year.
The Consumer Price Index climbed 0.3% last month after advancing 0.4% in March and February, while the 0.3% gain in the core rate of inflation, which strips out food and energy, was the smallest increase in four months.
In response, the dollar fell 0.6% against a basket of other major currencies and benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields both fell to their lowest levels in more than a month.
The milder than expected CPI data " could be an early indication that over time inflation will cool and the Fed will make its first interest rate cut," Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures, told Reuters.
Front-month Comex gold ( XAUUSD:CUR) for May delivery closed +1.5% to $2,388.70/oz, its highest settlement value since April 19, and front-month May silver ( XAGUSD:CUR) finished +3.6% to $29.514/oz, its best settlement since February 15, 2013.
ETFs: (NYSEARCA: GLD), (NYSEARCA: GDX), ( GDXJ), ( IAU), ( NUGT), ( PHYS), ( GLDM), ( AAAU), ( SGOL), ( BAR), ( OUNZ), ( SLV), ( PSLV), ( SIVR), ( SIL), ( SILJ)
Silver is poised to top the key $30 level, City Index analyst Fawad Razaqzada says, according to Marketwatch, adding that as long as Wednesday's early low holds, the "path of least resistance" for silver will remain to the upside.
Gold and silver's recent gains "partly reflect a weaker dollar and increased odds of a rate cut by the Fed, although the bulk of its gains have been driven by inflation hedging demand and central bank purchases in the case of gold," Razaqzada says. |
