Silver Prices Tumble Below $66 as Strong NFP Report Boosts US Dollar

Silver prices slipped below $66 on Monday as the strong US employment report boosted the US Dollar, which has been a negative factor for the precious metal.

The Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report released on Friday showed that the US economy added 162K jobs in August, exceeding market expectations of 56K. The Unemployment Rate remained unchanged at 4.1%, while annual Average Hourly Earnings growth eased slightly to 3.1% from 3.2% previously.

The strong labor market data reinforced the view that the US economy is robust enough for the Federal Reserve (Fed) to maintain a restrictive monetary policy stance, potentially leading to higher interest rates in the near future.