The opening bell on Monday rang on a $17.87 trade and moved to a daily high of $17.90 before selling took the close to $17.83. Lives silver prices were the same on Tuesday morning before buying lifted them to $17.88. Silver prices opened just 10 cents shy of the previous night’s close on Wednesday and light selling shaved another penny off by the close of $17.77. The price of silver stayed in a narrow range of that close on Thursday, with an opening of $17.75 and a close of $17.83. By the Friday open aftermarket activity took the price to $17.67, and after showing some strength the day closed at $17.61.
While the markets sorted out the economic impact of a second major hurricane in the U.S., North Korea’s launching of another missile stoked fears of war with the country. Market analysts are watching to see how the latest economic reports will impact this week’s FOMC meeting. With the U.S. CPI rising by .04 percent in August and producing a 1.9 percent annualized rate, some felt the Fed’s members will be more comfortable in considering another interest rate increase. The Fed may also feel new confidence in starting to address its historically high balance sheet in the last quarter of this year.
Those following the USD and EUR gained some small relief from the pressure they’ve experienced in the past couple of months, and they’ll be focusing on the Fed and European Central Bank for this week’s news. While the Bank of England maintained its rate at .25 percent, there were indications another increase may come soon.