Eric Sepanek
SBC Founder
Eric Sepanek is the founder of Scottsdale Bullion & Coin, established in 2011. With extensive experience in the precious metals industry, he is dedicated to educating Americans on the wealth preservation power of gold and silver.
Silver followed gold’s decline this week, after climbing 37% in the first half of the year. The price of silver opened around $18.80 per ounce on Monday, and then was brought down throughout the week following a plethora of positive U.S. economic reports.
While gold fell around 3% on Tuesday, silver took a greater nosedive to lose 5%, to land below $18 per ounce, reaching levels not seen since 2013. The week continued as investors wondered where the bottom might be. This week featured the largest one- and two-day sell-offs since January 2015.
The dollar was the driving force behind this week’s silver price decline. The greenback exhibited strength after the positive economic reports, and investors adopted a more risk-on attitude in the marketplace.
By Thursday, silver prices kept above the key support level of $17.12 per ounce, around the 200-day moving average that could determine whether prices would drop to $16 per ounce or lift upwards. The worse-than-expected jobs report released Friday sparked silver briefly back above $17.50 per ounce before closing the week just slightly below that.