Silver prices fell on Thursday (the last sessions of 2020), as the US dollar rose against its rivals, but precious metals such as gold and silver managed to score annual gains due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Investors rushed to precious metals as safe havens to shelter from the ongoing coronavirus crisis and the global economic recession it caused, the shortage of goods and the suspension of economic activities.
The US dollar’s drop
The US dollar lost around 7% during 2020, its largest annual loss since 2017, after the Federal Reserve launched a quantitative easing program that included cutting interest to between zero and 0.25%.
The US Congress pumped two fiscal stimulus packages, which made analysts lift their outlook for the US GDP to grow around 5% in the first quarter of 2021.
Silver
Silver March futures fell 0.6% or 16.1 cents, and closed at $26.412 an ounce. and posted weekly gains of 2%, monthly gains of 17%, and a whopping 48% annual gain, the largest since 2010 when it jumped more than 84%.
The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by 0.3% to 89.9 points as of 20:17 GMT, after hitting a high of 89.9 points and a low of 89.5 points.