Silver Reverses Slide as Risk Appetite Dips

Silver prices are flat on Wednesday, after posting gains on Tuesday. In European trade, silver is back above $17.00. Currently, silver is trading at $17.06, down $0.01 or 0.11% on the day.

Silver Climbs on Softer Risk Tone

After four straight losing sessions, silver rebounded on Tuesday and posted gains of 1.3 percent. This marked the strongest 1-day gain since October 31. There appears to be softer risk appetite on the part of investors, which has boosted the demand for precious metals, such as gold and silver. As well, silver benefited from a pullback in treasury bonds, which drove cash flows towards precious metals.

Ahead- Preliminary GDP

Silver is currently drifting, but that could change in the North American session, as the U.S. releases a host of indicators ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, when banks and equity markets will be closed. The key event is Preliminary GDP (second estimate) for the third quarter. Advanced GDP (initial estimate) posted a gain of 1.9%, and the second estimate is projected to confirm this figure. Traders should also keep an eye on Chicago PMI, which is expected to show contraction for a third successive month, and Core PCE Price Index. This index, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator, continues to point to weak inflation levels. After a flat reading of zero in September, the index is forecast to improve to 0.2%.

Silver Technical Analysis

The silver price forecast remains neutral, as silver is showing little appetite to veer from the 17.00 level. There is immediate resistance at 17.25. This is followed by the 50-EMA at 17.31. Above, 17.75 is the next resistance line. On the downside, the 200-EMA is providing support at 16.54. This is immediately followed by support at 16.50. If silver can break below this level, it has room to move down to 16.00, a symbolic level.