On the macro side, the ADP employment report showed that private employment in the US fell in June for the first time in over two years, suggesting that the US Fed might cut interest rates as early as September. This boosted gold and silver prices briefly. According to SMM, with the narrowing of the spot-futures price spread and sluggish consumption, suppliers of warrants for national standard silver ingots with spot cargo and cash payment in Shanghai lowered their TD premium quotes by 1-2 yuan/kg. Some suppliers also offered discounts of 36 yuan/kg against the secondary most-traded contract, the SHFE silver 2510 futures contract. Large manufacturers offered a premium of 3-4 yuan/kg against TD or a discount of 13-15 yuan/kg against the SHFE silver 2508 futures contract for their silver ingots. In the export market, small silver ingots in Hong Kong were offered at a minus of 29¢/oz, and standard silver ingots at a minus of 17¢/oz. After the silver price increase, downstream buyers became cautious again, and overall end-use consumption in the downstream sector remained sluggish in the first half of July.
