MCX BASE METAL TIPS | Silver lower ahead of key US data

MCX BASE METAL TIPS | Silver futures retreated during late morning trade in the domestic market on Tuesday as investors and speculators stuck to a cautious stance ahead of key US economic data which may show a strengthening recovery in the world’s biggest economy, vindicating the US Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade last week, curbing the lure for the precious metal as a store of value.

The US Q3 GDP growth is likely to have come in at 2.1 per cent, unchanged from a previous estimate while sales of existing homes probably rose in November, following a 3.4 per cent dip in October 2015, data due later today may show.

At the MCX, Silver futures for March 2015 contract is trading at Rs 34,171 per kg, down by 0.38 per cent after opening at Rs 34,224, against the previous closing price of Rs 34,301. It touched the intra-day low of Rs 34,140. (At 11:22 AM).