Bond Yields and the Precious Metals Watch
The persistent strength in US bond yields, even after some softer economic prints, has me watching precious metals closely, particularly silver. We've seen $USLV hold up better than I might have expected with the 10-year pushing back towards recent highs. The narrative around inflation is clearly sticky, and that's usually good for the yellow metal, but the cost of carrying non-yielding assets in a higher rate environment is always a headwind.
I'm specifically looking at how $USLV reacts if we get a decisive break either above the 13.00 level or a failure to hold current support if yields spike again. It's an interesting tug-of-war between the inflation hedge argument and rate pressure. Positioning remains light until we get more clarity, but it's definitely on the top of my commodity watchlist for a potential swing trade.