Fed's Hawkish Tone Weighs on Silver's Price, $60 Target Uncertain

Silver prices traded near $57.90 an ounce on Thursday after the Federal Reserve's decision to leave interest rates unchanged. The Fed's 9-3 vote showed pressure for tighter policy is building, but officials chose not to act immediately.

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan all preferred a quarter-point increase, indicating further tightening remains under consideration. The unchanged rate reduces immediate opportunity-cost pressure on non-yielding assets, yet the three dissents weigh on silver's price.

The stronger US dollar would also heavily impact silver because its market is smaller and generally more volatile than gold. Silver must contend with its exposure to manufacturing, leaving it sensitive to both borrowing costs and industrial demand.