Range bound silver prices are in serious need of a Fed catalyst to move prices higher or shorts may have a field day with the metal. Weakening macro data has silver bulls hoping for a more dovish stance on QE versus a hawkish one. They point to EU concerns as possible concerns for the US economy and anemic labor conditions domestically.
The issue for the Fed may be one of political cover and rallying market. Hard to justify a round of QE when you have Dow 13k. If the market was to sell-off in a sustained way it may give the Fed the cover it needs to inject further stimulus into the market.
Silver spot prices are currently down slightly, off 10 cents to $30.73 per ounce.
Silver Stocks
Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE:HL) is up 1% today at $4.06. HL has traded 631 thousand shares so far today and trades 5.9 million shares a day on average. HL shares have fallen about $0.20 a share from its high of $4.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of 1.16 billion.
Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE:SLW) is up 2.25% this morning at $29.10. SLW has traded 613 thousand shares so far today and trades 5.2 million shares a day on average. SLW shares have fallen $0.40 a share over the past week. The company has a market cap of 10.20 billion.
ProShares Ultra Silver (NYSEARCA:AGQ) is down 0.14% in early trading at $49.10. AGQ has traded 183 thousand shares in early trading and trades 2.3 million shares a day on average. AGQ shares have dropped $3 a share this week.
iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) is down 0.23% today at $29.86. SLV has traded 1.7 million shares so far today and trades 18.2 million shares a day on average. SLV shares have fallen $1 a share this week, most of it came on Monday as SLV gapped $1 at market open.
Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ:PAAS) is up 0.82% this morning at $18.62. PAAS has traded 318 thousand shares so far today and trades 1.9 million shares a day on average. PAAS shares are down about $1 this week. The company has a market cap of 1.94 billion.
Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (NYSE:FSM) is up 2.49% today at $3.70. FSM has traded 128 thousand shares so far today and trades 283 thousand shares a day on average. FSM shares are bouncing some today as the stock began to enter oversold territory. The company has a market cap of 459.73 million.
Silvercorp Metals Inc. (NYSE:SVM) is up 1.44% today at $6.4110. SVM has traded 165 thousand shares so far today and trades 1.5 million shares a day on average. SVM shares have dropped about $0.40 a share since last Thursday. The company has a market cap of 1.09 billion.
Endeavour Silver Corp. (NYSE:EXK) is up 1.95% today at $8.38. EXK has traded 171 thousand shares so far today and trades 1.3 million shares a day on average. EXK shares have dropped $0.30 a share on Monday and went even lower on Tuesday, before bouncing today. The company has a market cap of 734.66 million.
About Martin Stephenson
