Silver Prices Tumble as Fed Officials Signal Higher Interest Rates
Silver prices retreated on Tuesday after several Federal Reserve officials signaled that interest rates may remain higher for longer.
The COMEX front-month contract settled at $66.53 an ounce, down 0.4% from Monday's close of $66.78, following a 1.6% gain on Friday fueled by falling oil prices and diplomatic developments in the Middle East.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said that resilient demand and supply shocks could keep stoking price pressures, echoing comments made by St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem, who told Reuters that additional rate increases are likely to be necessary to combat core inflation above 2% for an extended period of 18 months.
Boston Fed President Susan Collins pointed to persistent risks on the energy front and signaled a willingness to support another rate hike this year, with Goolsbee emphasizing that policymakers cannot afford to ignore repeated supply shocks.