On Monday, spot silver prices experienced a decline, but have not yet moved away from last Friday's one month high of $31.49 per troy ounce, as weak US economic data has increased market expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this year.

Data shows that the US unemployment rate rose to 4.1% in June last Friday, the highest level since November 2021, compared to 4% in May. Analysts unanimously expect the unemployment rate to stabilize at 4%.

This week, market participants will closely monitor the semi annual congressional testimony of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, as well as a series of speeches by Federal Reserve officials. The June US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released on Thursday will also become the focus of market attention.

According to the FedWatch tool of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the market currently expects a probability of approximately 78% for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in September, up from 63% a week ago. Meanwhile, the possibility of a second interest rate cut in December has also increased in the market.

The lower interest rate reduces the opportunity cost of holding silver, as silver itself does not generate interest income.

As of 7:16 Greenwich Mean Time on Monday, spot silver prices fell 0.74%, trading at $30.994 per troy ounce. As of September delivery, the price of silver futures has fallen by 1.24%, trading at $31.297 per troy ounce.