‘Rocketing’ silver completes best month since 2013 as gold rises

Moscow-Russia (Apr 30)  Silver had the best month since 2013 amid the dollar’s slump and an improving outlook for industrial demand. Gold surged to the highest in more than a year.

All precious metals rose as a gauge of the dollar touched an 11-month low after weaker-than-expected US economic growth cut prospects for higher interest rates, adding to the appeal of non-yielding assets. Traders now see less than a 50 per cent chance that the Federal Reserve will raise borrowing costs by November, according to Fed fund futures data tracked by Bloomberg.

Silver’s 15 per cent surge this month has bettered gold’s advance amid optimism that industrial usage will increase as China’s economy shows signs of stabilising. About half of the metal’s demand comes from products ranging from electronics to solar panels. The country’s silver imports climbed 39 per cent in March from a month earlier, rebounding from the lowest since 2014, customs data show.

“Everybody loves a winner,” said Tai Wong, the director of commodity products trading at BMO Capital Markets in New York. “There haven’t been many great trades recently. The weak GDP yesterday, weak dollar overnight helped propel what was already a very bullish silver and gold market.”

Source: GulfNews