Silver price today was trading at $49.91 per troy ounce, down 0.2%, at 9:50 a.m. ET on Friday, November 13, after US producer inflation came in slightly below forecasts. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the October Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.3% month over month and 6.5% year over year, against expectations of 0.4% and 6.6%, respectively.
The softer monthly reading provided some relief after Tuesday’s stronger-than-expected consumer inflation report, but annual producer inflation still reached its highest level since November 2022. Silver remained near the $50 level rather than staging a sustained recovery, as traders continued to price in another Federal Reserve interest-rate increase in December.
Earlier Friday, FXStreet quoted silver at $49.97, down 0.07% from Thursday’s $50.01 reference close. The metal had already lost more than 3% on Thursday as rising Treasury yields and a stronger dollar pressured precious metals. FXStreet calculated silver’s year-to-date decline at 29.7% before the PPI release.
October PPI Rises 0.3% as Annual Inflation Reaches 6.5%
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ October PPI report, released at 8:30 a.m. ET, showed that final demand prices increased 0.3% after a revised 1.4% jump in September. September’s figure had initially been reported at 1.3%.
Although October’s monthly increase was smaller than economists expected, the annual rate accelerated from 6.3% in September to 6.5%. This was the highest year-over-year producer inflation reading since November 2022.
The details showed that inflation pressure remained widespread. Final demand goods prices increased 0.5% in October, including a 1.3% rise in food prices. Goods excluding food and energy also advanced 0.5%, indicating that the increase was not confined to volatile energy categories.
Services prices rose 0.2%, with transportation and warehousing services increasing 2.0%. Truck freight prices advanced 3.9%, while diesel fuel prices fell 7.9% during the month.
The index excluding food, energy and trade services, a measure of underlying producer inflation, rose 0.5% for the second consecutive month and increased 4.9% year over year. Separately, core PPI excluding food and energy rose 0.3% month over month, matching market expectations.
These figures help explain why the initial relief in financial markets was limited. The headline monthly figure was less severe than forecast, but underlying price increases remained substantial. Friday’s report offered little evidence that inflation had returned to a pace consistent with the Federal Reserve‘s longer-term objective.
Silver Price Holds Near $50 as December Fed Hike Bets Persist
Silver’s response to the inflation data was relatively subdued. Reuters reported spot silver at $49.91 an ounce at 9:50 a.m. ET, down 0.2% on the day. Gold was trading 0.6% higher at $3,898.84, although it had surrendered part of an earlier advance that followed the PPI release.
The difference matters because a below-forecast inflation report would ordinarily provide some support to non-yielding precious metals by reducing expectations of aggressive monetary tightening. In this case, the improvement was modest compared with the broader increase in interest-rate expectations earlier in the week.
According to Reuters’ post-PPI market report, traders assigned an 89.4% probability to a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve increase in December and a 10.6% probability to a larger 50-basis-point move.
The figures show that the market continued to expect additional tightening, even as the October PPI reading reduced some concern about the scale of the next increase. The Federal Reserve’s December 8-9 meeting remains the next major monetary policy decision.
The pressure on silver had intensified following Tuesday’s October Consumer Price Index report, which showed headline inflation increasing 0.4% month over month, above the 0.3% forecast. Core consumer prices rose 0.3%.
The two inflation reports now present a mixed picture. Consumer prices exceeded expectations, while producer prices rose less than forecast. Neither release establishes that inflation is easing quickly enough to eliminate the need for further interest-rate increases.
FinanceFeeds previously examined the market’s positioning ahead of Friday’s release in its Nasdaq analysis ahead of the October PPI report, following another difficult session for US equities and semiconductor stocks. The producer inflation figures provided a modestly softer reading, but did not remove the broader concern about interest rates.
Silver’s $50 Level Remains Under Pressure
The latest price leaves silver close to the psychological $50 threshold after a volatile week. Earlier Friday, FXStreet reported that XAG/USD had briefly traded near $50.80 before retreating as higher Treasury yields weighed on the metal.
Silver’s decline has been substantial since Monday. FinanceFeeds’ November 9 silver price analysis recorded spot prices near $52.52 before the week’s two major inflation releases. The latest $49.91 quote is approximately 5% below that earlier reference.
From a technical perspective, FXStreet identified $51.00 as an important resistance area after silver broke below the lower boundary of its previous trading range. A recovery through that level could bring the four-hour 100-period exponential moving average, near $52.86 at the time of its analysis, back into focus.
On the downside, $49.00 is the next significant reference level identified by FXStreet. A sustained move below it would increase attention on the $48.60-$48.55 area, which the publication identified as a recent year-to-date low.
These are technical reference points, not guaranteed price targets. Their relevance depends on subsequent trading, particularly changes in Treasury yields, the dollar and expectations for the Federal Reserve’s next decision.
The wider silver market also faces demand uncertainty. Separately on Friday, Metals Focus projected that global silver demand would fall 5% in 2026 to approximately 1.08 billion troy ounces, according to Reuters. Weaker jewellery consumption and softer industrial demand, particularly from solar manufacturing, are expected to contribute to the decline.
That outlook complicates the inflation-driven trading picture. Silver can benefit when investors seek precious metals exposure, but its substantial industrial uses also leave it sensitive to manufacturing demand and economic conditions.
For now, October’s PPI reading has slightly reduced concern about an especially aggressive December rate increase without removing the expectation of further tightening. Silver’s ability to recover above $50 and challenge $51 will depend partly on whether bond yields and the dollar ease following the data.
The immediate result is a market still under pressure: producer inflation came in below expectations, but the annual rate remains elevated, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates again, and silver is trading well below Monday’s levels. Friday’s modest response suggests that one softer inflation reading has not been enough to reverse the metal’s recent decline.