Silver Drifting, Investors Eye U.S. Consumer Inflation

Silver prices remain steady this week. In Thursday’s European session, silver is trading at $17.76, up $0.04, or 0.27% on the day.

Fed Minutes Fail to Sway Silver

Silver prices were almost unchanged on Wednesday, as the minutes of the Federal Reserve September meeting did not affect safe-haven assets like gold and silver. The message from the Fed was dovish, as FOMC members said that the risks to U.S. growth “were tilted to the downside.” Members also noted weak global growth, the toll of the U.S-China trade war and low inflation. The markets are expecting another rate cut from the Fed this month, with the CME Group forecasting the likelihood of a rate cut at 85%. Traders should keep a close eye on U.S. inflation reports, with soft gains expected. The headline release is projected to remain steady at 0.1%, while the core reading is expected to tick lower to 0.2%, down from 0.3% in the previous release.

U.S. and China Resume Trade Talks

After a long break, the U.S. and China will resume trade talks in Washington on Thursday. The bitter trade war has taken a toll on both the Chinese and U.S. economies, and there is talk that the sides are working on reaching a partial trade agreement and leave the thorniest issues for another day. In previous meetings, the markets have reacted strongly to any hint of progress, and traders can expect the same in the upcoming negotiations.

Silver Technical Analysis

Silver has shown limited movement for most of the week, and remains range-bound. On Tuesday, silver broke above the 50-EMA level at 17.46, and is putting more pressure on the round number of 18.00. On the downside, 16.90 was tested early last week. Below, the 200-EMA is providing support at 16.19, which has held since the first week of August.