Silver Prices Consolidate at $18 After Nearly Two-Month Rally

London (Feb 20)  Silver prices held near $18 an ounce Monday, as the market digested a nearly two-month rally that has added more than 12% to the precious metal.

May silver futures fell 5 cents, or 0.3%, to $18.05 a troy ounce at 7:45 am ET, according to Barchart. Prices fluctuated within a narrow range overnight before consolidating near the 2017 settlement high. The price outlook remains bullish, with the MACD and RSI showing sustained upward momentum.

The grey metal fell from more than three-month highs on Friday, pressured by a rebounding U.S. dollar. The dollar, which often trades inversely with greenback-denominated metals, edged down 0.1% to 100.85 Monday morning.

Silver is enjoying a nearly two-month uptrend, as bargain-hunters and risk-averse investors snatched up the metal at incredibly low prices. However, gains have slowed in recent weeks, with the futures contract adding around 2.5% since the start of February. It rose 7.3% in all of January.

Gold futures were also hovering just below three-month highs after posting modest gains the previous week. The April futures contract edged down $1.40, or 0.1%, to $1,237.70 a troy ounce.

In economic data, German producer inflation strengthened more than expected in January, offering further sign that Europe’s largest economy was regaining momentum. The producer price index (PPI), a measure of price changes at the factory-gate level, rose 0.7% last month, the Federal Statistics Office said in a report on Monday. That translated into an annualized gain of 2.4%. Both figures were much higher than forecasts.

There are no major economic releases scheduled in the United States, as markets close for President’s Day. The New York Stock Exchange will also cease to trade on Monday, and will reopen the following day.

Source: EconomicCalenday