Silver Prices Soar Following Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine 

Silver prices were up 0.8% on Thursday as Russian forces began their attack on Ukraine. US benchmark yields fell sharply but then stabilized. The 10-year yield dipped to 1.85% but stabilized to 1.92%. Gold prices rally to above $1975, the highest level in more than a year, as investors are attracted to safe-haven assets. Geopolitics has overshadowed economic data today.

Technical Analysis

On Thursday, silver prices moved higher in the wake of Russian forces attacking multiple targets in Ukraine. Support is seen near the 10-day moving average at 23.94. Resistance is seen near the 50-week moving average of 24.58. Short-term momentum turns negative as the fast stochastic generates a crossover sell signal. The fast stochastic is printing a reading of 70.27. 

Medium-term momentum is positive as MACD (moving average convergence divergence) index had a crossover buy signal. The MACD line (the 12-day moving average minus the 26-day moving average) crosses over the signal line (the 9-day moving average of the MACD line). The MACD histogram prints in positive territory with an upward sloping trajectory, pointing to higher prices.

Weekly Initial Jobless Claims

Last week, weekly jobless claims came in slightly less than expected, totaling 232,000. The Dow Jones estimate was 235,000. The reading was down 17,000 from the previous week. Continuing claims, totaling 1.48 million, hit their lowest level since March 14, 1970. The broader economic side shows improvements as GDP has been slightly revised to increase at a 7% annualized pace in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace since 1984.