SILVER PRICE ANALYSIS: XAG/USD AIMS TO RECAPTURE 11-MONTH HIGH SLIGHTLY ABOVE $26

• Silver price advances toward 11-month high at $26.14 as the US Dollar weakens.
• Fed’s projections for three rate cuts this year remain unabated.
• The market sentiment turns bullish on higher expectations for the Fed reducing interest rates from June.

Silver price (XAG/USD) extends its upside to $25.70 in Thursday’s European session. The white metal is an inch away from reclaiming an 11-month high at $26.14. The appeal for precious metals has strengthened after the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

For the fifth time in a row, the Fed kept key borrowing rates unchanged in the range of 5.25%-5.50%, as expected. The appeal of the US Dollar weakened after the Fed stuck with three rate cut projections for this year. This led to a significant increase in market expectations for the Fed to lower interest rates from the June meeting.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, the chances for a rate cut have increased to almost 75% from 59%, which was recorded before the Fed’s policy announcement. Expectations for Fed rate cuts in June rose significantly despite the Fed's failure to provide any meaningful timeframe for rate cuts, as it lacks evidence that inflation will sustainably decline to the 2% target.

Meanwhile, the demand for risk-sensitive assets improves as investors seem confident that rate cuts will start in June. S&P 500 futures have posted significant gains in the London session. 10-year US Treasury yields have dropped slightly to 4.26%. The US Dollar Index (DXY) recovers intraday losses but broadly seems weak.