Silver falls 2.42% to $49.30 an ounce in Nov. 3 trading
Key Facts
Spot silver fell 2.42% to $49.30 an ounce bid at 01:30 Eastern time on Nov. 3, while the ask price was $49.55, according to Kitco’s prices page. The metal recorded a price change of $1.225 in that reading. The decline followed gains in silver on Nov. 2, when it reached $50.987 an ounce, up 3.77% on the daily chart at the time of Kitco’s report. Against the backdrop of the metal’s moves, U.S. inflation remained elevated in September, while separate data showed the possibility of increased silver flows to India in the coming months. These developments place the day’s price move alongside indicators of physical demand and the U.S. price trend.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showed the personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.5% in September from a month earlier, compared with 0.3% in August, while its annual increase was 3.6%. The September personal income and outlays report was released on Oct. 29, before the silver session covered in this report. The core index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3% during the month and 3.1% year over year. The two readings provide measures of headline and core inflation in the U.S. economy as investors track price data in assessing the path of monetary policy. The Federal Reserve kept its target interest-rate range at 3.75% to 4% on Oct. 28, in a decision approved by a 10-to-2 vote.
The Fed said in its statement that inflation “remains elevated,” and that the accumulation of more information would help the committee determine the appropriate monetary-policy stance to return inflation to its 2% goal. Two members dissented; Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack preferred to raise the target interest-rate range by a quarter percentage point at the October meeting. These positions underscore that inflation remained part of the monetary-policy debate, without changing the committee’s decision at that meeting. For silver, this backdrop puts inflation and interest-rate readings in the context of factors the market is monitoring, without by itself establishing the cause of the price move on Nov. 3. Minutes of the October meeting are scheduled for release on Nov. 18, ahead of the committee’s next meeting on Dec. 8 and 9.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis said personal consumption expenditures in current dollars increased 0.5% in September, after rising 0.9% in August. Real spending rose by $2.6 billion, or less than 0.1% from a month earlier, while its change was shown rounded to 0.0% in the comparison table. The bureau attributed the $113.1 billion increase in nominal spending to a $35.1 billion rise in spending on goods and a $78.1 billion increase in services. The figures show that spending at current prices rose at a faster pace than the limited increase in its real volume. The bureau set Nov. 25 as the release date for the October personal income and outlays report.
On the physical-demand side, Heraeus analysts said in a report carried by Kitco on Nov. 2 that India had issued permits to import about 6,500 tonnes of silver over the following six months. The amount is equivalent to nearly 209 million ounces, or about 90% of India’s imports throughout 2025. But imports in the first nine months of 2026 totaled about 87 million ounces, down 32% from the same period a year earlier. Imports fell to about 1 million ounces a month in May and June after licensing requirements were introduced, then rose to 15.5 million ounces in August and 11.0 million in September. The figures point to a recovery in monthly flows in late summer, while year-to-date imports remained below the comparable period’s level.
Indian dealer premiums over official local prices were $0.45 an ounce on Oct. 22, after reaching $2.50 a week earlier and about $6.50 in July, according to the Heraeus report carried by Kitco. The decline in premiums coincided with uneven imports in recent months, ahead of the new permits covering the following six months. The report said Indian demand typically rises during the festive season leading up to Diwali, scheduled for Nov. 8, 2026. Among upcoming U.S. data releases, the September Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey was scheduled for Nov. 3 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. The October U.S. employment report was set for release on Nov. 6 at 08:30 a.m., followed by the October Consumer Price Index on Nov. 10 at the same time.