Silver prices turn lower after hitting 5-week high

     Silver prices were lower on Monday, as traders booked profits from a recent rally which took prices to a five-week high earlier in the session.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver for March delivery shed 0.75% to trade at USD20.07 a troy ounce during European morning trade. Comex silver prices rose to a session high of USD20.35 a troy ounce earlier, the strongest level since December 11.
The March contract ended Friday’s session up 2.74% at USD20.22 a troy ounce. Futures were likely to find support at USD19.54 a troy ounce, the low from January 10 and resistance at USD20.47, the high from December 11.

Meanwhile, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,246.00 a troy ounce, down 0.07%. Gold prices climbed to a daily high of USD1,254.00 a troy ounce earlier, the strongest since December 12.

Comex gold prices settled 1.42% higher on Friday to end at USD1,246.90 a troy ounce. Futures were likely to find support at USD1,226.60 a troy ounce, the low from January 10 and resistance at USD1,256.50, the high from December 12.

The U.S. economy added just 74,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department said Friday, the smallest increase since January 2011 and well below expectations for 196,000 new jobs.
The unemployment rate fell to a five-year low of 6.7% last month from 7% in November, but this was due in part to people dropping out of the labor force. The labor participation rate fell to an almost 35-year low of 62.8%.

The disappointing data cooled expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut its stimulus program again this month. The central bank cited a stronger labor market in its decision to taper its asset purchase program by USD10 billion in December to USD75 billion-a-month.
Minutes of the Fed’s December meeting released last week showed that officials were keen to stress that further reductions in stimulus were not on a “preset course” and would be undertaken in “measured” steps.

The central bank is scheduled to meet January 28-29 to review the economy and assess policy. Expectations of monetary stimulus tend to benefit gold and silver, as the precious metals are seen as a safe store of value and inflation hedge.

Elsewhere on the Comex, copper futures for March delivery declined 0.35% to trade at USD3.331 a pound. investing.com