Silver Breaks Through $69 as Washington's Debt Buyback Program Sways Markets

Silver has broken through the $69 threshold, closing at $69.01 per ounce on Friday and marking a 1.3% daily gain and a 6.5% weekly advance.

This move extends a 15% rebound over the past 30 days, but still leaves the metal well below its 52-week high of $121.78 reached at the end of January.

The catalyst for this price action came from an unexpected corner of Washington: the US Treasury Department's announcement of a sharp expansion of its buyback program for long-dated government debt.

The move, which includes lifting purchases of 10- to 30-year bonds from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per transaction and adding another $14 billion in the current quarter, dragged down the dollar and pushed long-end yields lower.