Silver holds above $17 as dollar rises

Silver futures fluctuated lower in the Asian market today, to bounce from the highest since January 26, 2018, while according to the inverse relation between them US dollar rose, ahead of key economic data releases expected today the US economy.

As of 05:26 GMT, silver futures (September delivery) rose by 0.58% to $17.03 an ounce, from the opening of $17.13, as dollar index rose by 0.07% to 98.24 points from the opening of 98.17.

Investors are anticipating the US economy release of major housing market data, with the release of the Existing Home Sales reading, expected to rise by 2.5% to 5.41 million homes vs. a fall by 1.7% to 5.27 million in May, in addition to the release of the Fed's July meeting minutes.

During its latest meeting in July 30-31, the US Fed's policy makers agreed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to between 2.00% and 2.25% for the first time in more than a decade, as the bank stated that the cut came to support the economy's growth and to counter weak inflation signs due to trade protectionism.

The markets are also anticipating the launch of the US Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Economic Symposium by next Thursday, which will be attended by global central bankers and finance ministers as well as academics and financial market participants from around the world, while on Friday Fed's Chair, Jerome Powell, will deliver a speech titled "Challenges of Monetary Policy"..

US Commerce Minister Wilbur Ross said on Monday that the US will grant Huawei and a number of other Chinese companies a 90-day reprieve to move forward in the trade talks, while expressing his concern about the Fed's approach and its impact on dollar's strength, while adding that a recession is likely to happen later, and that the US bonds yield curve is not an unrealistic indicator as some thought.

President Trump also said that the US economy is still strong despite the Fed's and its governor Jerome Powell's approach, citing the importance of cutting interest rates at least by 100 basis points with quantitative easing, and added that the US and the global economy will benefit from another rate cut.