Silver Prices Consolidate Breaking 3-day Winning Streak

Silver prices edged lower after breakout out on Wednesday. Prices consolidated along with the rest of the precious metals complex. The dollar continued to move lower, which helped buoy prices. U.S. Treasury yields declined following a softer than expected U.S. PPI figure. U.S. Jobless claims moved up more than expected, but continuing claims hit a pre-pandemic low.

Technical Analysis

On Thursday, silver prices edged lower breaking a 3-day winning stream. Resistance is seen near the 50-day moving average at $23.22. Support is seen near the 10-day moving average at 22.81. Short-term momentum has turned positive as the fast stochastic generated a crossover buy signal. Prices are overbought as the fast stochastic is printing a reading of 84, above the overbought trigger level of 80. Medium-term momentum has turned positive as the MACD (moving average convergence divergence) index generated a crossover sell signal. This scenario occurs as the MACD line (the 12-day moving average minus the 26-day moving average) crosses below the MACD signal line (the 9-day moving average of the MACD line).

Jobless Claims Rose More than  Expected

Initial jobless claims for the week ended January 8 totaled 230,000, well above the 200,000 estimates and a considerable increase from the previous week’s 207,000. Continuing claims, which run a week behind the headline, fell by 194,000 to 1.56 million, the lowest level since June 2, 1973. The four-week average for claims was 210,750, an increase of 6,250 from the previous week but still below the pre-pandemic level.