Silver Prices Gain 1% Today – Fed Comments Being Watched

San Francisco (Dec 9)  Silver prices have gained more than $0.20 this morning at $19.74/oz. The metal was trading as high as $19.81 earlier this morning. The Federal Reserve remains one of the primary focuses for commodity investors. Several Federal Reserve officials are expected to talk today. Investors will be watching for any indication on which way they are leaning for a QE taper.  By 2:15 NY time spot silver was $19.78 up 25 cents on the day.   

Taper could be not as big a deal as it once was. Every piece of jobs data last week blew past estimates and yet silver gained more than $0.50 between Wednesday and Friday. That could have been shorts covering positions into the news, or investors just aren’t worried about it as much anymore.

I still think investors don’t want to see a taper start. But, for gold and silver – QE won’t be providing a safety net for investors for much longer. Investor demand for gold and silver could spike as they look for protection next year from whatever market, or political events occur. $85 billion a month has been protecting investors from sharp declines in the stock market. Take that away, and investors will want to put their money in something on market pullbacks. Mainly, gold and silver.

Those of you watching the Fed will want to keep a close eye on jobless claims on Thursday. Last week’s jobs data pointed to a strengthening labor market. Was it skewed by holiday hiring, or is this the start of accelerated growth? That’s the question many have and we won’t know for a few months. This could give the Fed pause on acting on November’s jobs data. We won’t really know how much holiday hiring is influencing it until January’s jobs report in February.