Silver Sinks in Volatile Session as the Yen Strengthens

The most unusual move across the benchmark board came from Silver, several times the size of its usual day. Trading on Friday, September 11 finished with Silver -5.7% and Gold -1.8%. Market reporting indicated that hotter inflation data strengthened expectations of Federal Reserve rate hikes. The pressure followed government data showing consumer prices rose 0.4% in August. In related trading, silver futures opened 1.2% lower as rate hike bets built ahead of the report. The inflation release also showed that core consumer prices rose 0.3% in August.

In foreign exchange, the session brought the yen, its strongest against the dollar in a year. Trading on Friday, September 11 closed with the yen +0.5% against the dollar, as the Japanese currency strengthened against the dollar. The advance came as wholesale inflation rose 7.6% and bolstered expectations for a near-term interest rate hike. The inflation data showed that producer price growth remained elevated across Japanese industry. Across other major currency pairs, trading finished with the euro -0.1% against the dollar as the European currency weakened against the dollar, while the pound +0.1% against the dollar as the British currency strengthened slightly.

In digital assets, the session recorded Bitcoin +0.9% and Ethereum +3.2%.

In extended trading as of 12:10 pm New York, precious metals moved further, with silver -0.8% and gold -0.6%.

Market participants face two significant policy decisions in the coming week. The Federal Reserve convenes for its policy meeting on September 15 and 16. The Bank of Japan concludes its monetary policy meeting on September 18.