Silver Hovers at $18.00 in Thin Holiday Trade

Silver prices are steady at the start of the new trading week. Currently, silver is trading at $18.04, up $0.02 or 0.12% on the day. With U.S. banks closed for Martin Luther King Day, we’re unlikely to see much movement on Monday.

U.S. Ends Week with Mixed Numbers

The U.S. ended a busy week with a host of releases on Friday. Construction numbers for December were mixed. Building permits fell to 1.42 million, down from 1.48 million a month earlier. Housing starts were unexpectedly strong, climbing from 1.37 million to 1.61 million. This easily beat the estimate of 1.38 million. Consumer confidence remains steady, as UoM Consumer Sentiment ticked lower to 99.1, down from 99.2 pts. Finally, JOLTS Job Openings slowed to 6.80 million, shy of the estimate of 7.24 million. This was the weakest reading since June 2018.

Silver Yawns as Trump Touts ‘Phase One’

The U.S. and China signed the Phase One trade accord on Thursday in Washington. Predictably, President Trump described the event in glowing terms, and will likely point to the deal as a major victory of his foreign policy. However, the markets have not bought in the excitement, with critics viewing the deal as little more than a truce in the ongoing trade war. Indeed, Phase One does not remove all tariffs between the U.S. and China, and Chinese officials have been mum on their commitments under the agreement to purchase U.S. goods and services. Still, this is the most progress we’ve seen since the trade war started in the summer of 2018, and Trump has said that a “Phase Two” round of talks will follow shortly.

Silver Technical Analysis

The key 18.00 level remains fluid, as silver pushed above this line on Friday. session. Above, there is resistance at 18.60, which is protecting the 19.00 line. Silver touched a low of 17.68 last week, but could not break below nearby support levels. The 50-EMA line is at 17.64 and this is followed by support at 17.50. Below, we have support at the round level of 17.00.