Oil's Slide and Fed Warnings Weigh on Silver Prices

The recent decline in oil prices has eased inflation worries and pulled silver back from its highs, but comments from Federal Reserve officials have tempered risk appetite.

Silver finished Monday's session at $66.53 per troy ounce, a modest dip of 0.4%, as diplomatic initiatives surrounding the Middle East conflict fuel hopes of de-escalation.

The COMEX front-month silver contract closed up 1.6% at $66.78 on Friday, and physical demand is lending support as processors stock up ahead of China's national holidays.

Austan Goolsbee, Chicago Fed president, stressed there is no ambiguity: if demand stays too strong, policy will need to be tightened further, with a hawkish tone score of 7.4 assigned to his remarks.