AFTERNOON UPDATE

Silver turns decisively to the upside
Improved economic picture for China cited as the reason for the price jump

(USAGOLD – 1/18/2022) – Though gold stayed stubbornly within a tight range just above the $1800 mark in today’s trading, silver decisively turned to the upside. It is up 48¢ on the day at $23.53. Gold is down $4 at $1816. Silver’s advance looks to be part of a general rally in commodities led by oil. Gold, at the same time, has been held in check by a firming U.S. dollar. The big story in financial markets continues to be the sell-off in the bond market with yields on the 10-year Treasury now approaching two-year highs.

Investing Cube’s Faith Maina attributes silver’s rise to positive economic numbers coming out of China. “The Middle Kingdom is the largest consumer of silver and other industrial metals. To begin with, the country’s GDP rose by 1.6% in Q4’21 compared to the predicted 1.1% and prior quarter’s 0.2%. Besides, industrial production rose by 4.3% in December YoY, which is higher than the previous 3.8% and expected 3.6%.” In keeping with that analysis, platinum and palladium are also higher this morning.

Chart courtesy of TradingView.com

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