Silver Futures Rise to $20.42 per Ounce as Dollar Falls

Today, silver futures for March delivery increased $0.72, to $20.42 an ounce, The Wall Street Journal reported. Futures reached $20.36 an ounce earlier today, MarketWatch said.

Affecting the metal’s price were a falling dollar and continued concern regarding the US Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program. The Fed plans to meet December 17 and 18, and investors expect the board will discuss the program at that time.

A sudden, significant drop in bond buying is unlikely, as per The Wall Street Journal. “The more people talk about, the more they realize that it’s not going to go from $85 billion to zero, it’s going to be a gradual process,” the news outlet quotes Thomas Capalbo, a precious metals broker with futures brokerage Newedge in New York, as saying.