Silver recovers some losses, down ahead of NFP

Silver clawed back half of its early losses in European trading on Friday, but is still 1.7% down to near $72.60. The white metal is expected to remain volatile, ahead of the US nonfarm payrolls (NFP) data for May.

Investors will pay close attention to the NFP data to get fresh cues regarding the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook.

The NFP report is expected to show that the economy created 85,000 fresh jobs, lower than 115,000 in April.

The Unemployment Rate is seen steady at 4.3%, while Average Hourly Earnings, a key measure of wage growth, is seen arriving lower at 3.4% year-on-year from the previous reading of 3.6%.

On a monthly basis, the wage growth measure is expected to have grown at a faster pace of 0.3% against 0.2% in April.

Signs of improving US job demand would prompt hawkish Fed prospects; however, soft figures would have a limited impact on the Fed’s monetary policy expectations, as recent remarks from officials have indicated that they are more concerned about high inflation than weak employment conditions.

On Thursday, comments by Kansas City Fed Bank President Jeffrey Schmid indicated that the US central bank has to choose between holding interest rates at current levels or raising them to tame inflationary pressures.

(Source: OANDA)