Silver Prices Move Higher Amid Rising Russian-Ukraine Tensions

Silver prices rose on Thursday in the wake of heightening geopolitical tensions. The US benchmark yields fall as investors monitor the Russia–Ukraine crisis. The US ten-year yield hovers near 2.0% as the Fed Minutes did not reveal a more aggressive monetary policy. Rising tensions lifted gold prices to $1885-$1890, the highest level since last June as investors rushed to gold as a safe-haven asset. The dollar remained little changed following the Russia-Ukraine discussion and the outlook on the Fed rate hike. After the minutes, markets priced in a 50-50 chance of the Fed increasing its benchmark rate by 1.75 percentage points.

Technical Analysis

On Thursday, silver prices moved higher as geopolitical tensions worsened. Support is seen near the 10-day moving average at 23.34. Resistance is seen near the 200-day moving average at 24.32. Short-term momentum is positive as the fast stochastic generated a crossover buy signal. The fast stochastic is printing a reading of 90.18, exceeding the overbought trigger level of 80. Medium-term momentum is positive as MACD (moving average convergence divergence) index had a crossover buy signal. This scenario occurs when the MACD line (the 12-day moving average minus the 26-day moving average) crosses over the MACD signal line (the 9-day moving average of the MACD line). The MACD histogram prints in positive territory with an upward sloping trajectory, pointing toward higher prices.

US Housing Starts Decline and Permits Surge in January 

In January, US housing starts dipped 4.1% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.638 million units. Economists expected starts to fall to a rate of 1.700 million units. Many parts of the country experienced freezing temperatures that contributed to the decline. Rising mortgage rates also contributed to decreased housing demand among consumers. However, homebuilding permits surged by 0.7% to a rate of 1.899 million units, the highest since 2006.