Price for silver and gold SOAR amid economic uncertainty

Silver as well as gold prices have surged in the past month and through the year, with silver increasing 60 percent in the last month alone. The spike in value from precious metals comes as there has been uncertainty in the economy. 

The prices of silver crossed the record of $120 an ounce for the first time this week. The spike is somewhat attributed to investors seeking to put their money amid trading tensions as well as geopolitical conflicts have been on the horizon. Gold also hit a high topping $5,600 an ounce but then dropped to $5,300 later during the day.

Precious metals have historically been a haven for investors to park their cash. The spike also takes place as the Department of Justice has been pursuing an investigation into cost overruns from a renovation of the Fed under Jerome Powell, which has been concerning for some.

Adding to that, Powell announced on Wednesday that interest rates would hold steady, which led to more pressure to cut the rates from the president. Additionally, Powell made comments about the stability of the dollar, which has an inverse relationship to gold prices much of the time.

“The argument can be made that we are losing credibility, but that simply is not the case. If you look at where inflation expectations are, our credibility is right where it needs to be,” he said, per Yahoo Finance. “We don't get spun up over particular asset change prices, although we do monitor them, of course.”

Another factor, according to the New York Times, may be the Chinese silver markets. China is one of the largest suppliers of silver on the planet, and started enforcing new restrictions on silver exports earlier this year, possibly increasing the value of silver in other markets due to lack of supply. Some market analysts have said that silver has run ahead of its value in the rally, something that may be evident in the sharp sell-off that took place later on Thursday.