Silver Prices Extend One-Month Highs Ahead of Active Week

London (July 31)  Silver prices rose on Monday, extending last week’s one-month highs as investors prepared for a whirlwind of market-moving events later this week.

September silver futures climbed 7 cents, or 0.4%, to $16.76 a troy ounce at 7:28 a.m. ET, little changed from the previous close. Prices traded between $16.67 and $16.79 through the overnight session.

The grey metal rose 1.4% last week to settle at fresh one-month highs. Silver has rebounded 8% since reaching 15-month lows July 7.

Gold futures traded within a narrow range, with the December futures contract holding steady at $1,274.10 a troy ounce.

The U.S. dollar rose 0.2% against a basket of world currencies, but continued to trade near yearly lows. The greenback is mired in its longest skid in six years.

The Chinese economy expanded at a slower but steady pace in July, according to a new batch of PMI data published by Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipped to 51.4 in July from 51.7 the previous month. The gauge of service activity also weakened slightly to 54.5 from 54.9.

Meanwhile, Eurozone unemployment fell to 9.1% in June from 9.2% the previous month wile core inflation nudged up to an annualized 1.2% in July.

Economic data will dominate the headlines throughout the week, with reports on U.S. jobs taking center stage. The ADP Research Institute will release its advanced estimate of private-sector job creation on Wednesday, just 48 hours before the official nonfarm payrolls report.

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