Silver Prices Today Could Slip on Jobs Numbers

Precious Metals News: Silver prices today could slip if the December jobs report comes in higher than expected.

Silver prices traded in tight range Thursday ending the day a touch higher, up $0.076, or 0.31%, at $19.61 an ounce. But the price of silver fell Wednesday after strong ADP data. The ADP report showed 238,000 jobs were added in December, above the 200,000 expected. The U.S. dollar index edged higher following the ADP report, and metals were clipped.

After a solid start this year, silver prices have since slipped.

While silver prices consolidated above the key $20 level last week and again Monday, the white metal slumped on Tuesday in tandem with gold. The white metal slipped through the crucial $20, shedding as much as $0.43 before ending the day down $0.29 to $19.80 an ounce.

The move came in sync with the $8.60 drop in gold prices amid what traders called a "downside correction" following strong gains over the first two trading days of 2014. Wary traders were also still mulling the "mini flash crash" in gold futures that occurred Monday and sent gold lower by $30 an ounce in mere seconds.

The white metal did usher in 2014 on a positive note.

Silver futures for March delivery jumped 3.9% to $20.128 an ounce on the Comex exchange on the first trading day of the New Year. The metal traded around that level over the next three trading sessions.

Additionally, short positions held by "smart money" speculators on the New York Mercantile Exchange shrunk, according to Monday's weekly commitments of traders' data from the Commodity Futures Trading. Also bullish for silver prices - net long positions grew as index rebalancing began and activity picked up following the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

Demand Should Cushion Silver Prices in 2014

Silver investors were happy to say goodbye to 2013. The white metal lost a painful 36.3% last year, its poorest annual performance since 1984.

But there are several reasons investors should buy silver in 2014, if they haven't already...

Among the precious metal's appeal is that it's a store of value, safe-haven alternative asset, and inflationary hedge.

And, as the global economic recovery moves forward in 2014, industrial demand for silver is expected to pick up. Investment demand is also projected to be healthy.

Moreover, with prices more than half off all-time highs of $49.76, physical silver demand remains robust amid retail bargain hunters.

"Retail demand for physical bullion was very strong toward the end of 2103 with the retreat in prices," Jake W. Haugen, Chief Operating Officer at Texas-based Provident Metals, told Money Morning. "And, we're seeing a similar trend in the New Year."

Even if silver prices don't rebound to record highs in 2014, experts know to keep some physical silver in their portfolio.

"I have physical silver," said Money Morning Defense & Tech Specialist Michael A. Robinson. "I might have bought some at the top, but I don't care what the price goes to; I will not sell that physical silver. It's there for a reason - just like I have insurance on my car, I have insurance in case of a disaster."

While it's too early to gauge buying in 2014, last year's figures are impressive.

According to the U.S. Mint's Website, sales of the popular one-ounce American Eagle silver coins totaled a whopping 42.675 million ounces in 2013. That was substantially higher than 2012's cumulative tally of 33.743 million. Furthermore, last year's sales were more than double 2008's final sum and quadruple the level recorded in 2007.

The Perth Mint also reported record sales volume. Silver coins sales surged 33% to roughly 8.6 million ounces in 2013, up from 6.5 million ounces in 2012, according to the Australian entity. The total sales figure last month was 845,941 ounces, up from 807,246 ounces in November and up from 452,389 a year earlier.

Did you know that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has signaled a major reason to buy silver in 2014? Check it out: Silver Set to Double, According to... Apple?

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