Silver Prices Steady, Investors Await U.S. Retail Sales

Silver continues to have a quiet week. In European trade on Friday, XAG/USD is trading at $18.13, up $0.08 on the day.

Will U.S. Retail Sales Boost Silver Prices?

Silver showed little reaction to this week’s U.S. inflation reports. Although the metal has been increasingly viewed as a safe-haven asset by investors, silver shrugged as CPI fell in August to just 0.1%, down from 0.3% a month earlier. The U.S. will release retail sales, a key indicator, later on Friday – will the response again be muted? The prognosis is for weak August numbers. The headline release is expected to drop to 0.2%, down from 0.7% a month earlier. The core release is forecast to slow to 0.1%, after a sparkling gain of 1.0% in July. If the forecasts are on target and retail sales are dismal, investor risk appetite will likely sour. The question is whether silver will act as a safe-haven. If the answer is affirmative, I would expect investors to snap up silver in the North American session, resulting in higher prices for the metal.

Technical Analysis

On Thursday, XAU/USD showed its strongest upward movement this week. However, the pair was unable to consolidate and ended the Thursday session almost unchanged.

Silver has hugged the round number of 18.00 throughout the week, but it has been unable to break below this support level. This line, which has been surprisingly resilient, was tested in the Asian session. The line could break before the end of the day, but I wouldn’t rush to sell if this occurs, as I expect it to remain relevant into next week. On the upside, resistance is steady at 18.60.