Silver Prices On Track for Third Weekly Gain Ahead of US-Russia Talks

Silver prices rose on Friday as investors focused on the Russia-Ukraine situation. The US ten-year yield is steady, holding near 1.97%. Gold prices soften slightly as hopes of US-Russia talks take pressure off the markets, despite reaching their third weekly gain. Investors’ focus also remains on the Federal Reserve’s plans for the impending rate hikes. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard warned that inflation could turn into a more severe issue without taking action to tighten rates.

Technical Analysis

On Thursday, silver prices moved higher as US-Russia talks came into focus. Support is seen near the 10-day moving average at 23.45. Resistance is seen near the 200-day moving average at 24.30. Short-term momentum is positive as the fast stochastic generated a crossover buy signal. The fast stochastic is printing a reading of 93.48, exceeding the overbought trigger level of 80. Medium-term momentum is positive as MACD (moving average convergence divergence) index had a crossover buy signal. This scenario occurs when the MACD line (the 12-day moving average minus the 26-day moving average) crosses over the MACD signal line (the 9-day moving average of the MACD line). The MACD histogram prints in positive territory with an upward sloping trajectory, pointing toward higher prices.

US Existing Home Sales Surged in January 

In January, US existing homes sales increased by 6.7%. The readings beat December home sales, which were revised down to 6.09 million from 6.18 million. Economists’ expectations were a 1.3% decline to 6.1 million units. Prices have risen in each region. In January, the median existing-home price was $350,300 for all housing types, up 15.4% from the previous year’s ($303,600).