Huatai Futures: Liquidity restrictions may become one of the main reasons triggering a sharp decline in silver

Geopolitically, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri led a delegation to Muscat, the capital of Oman, to attend nuclear negotiations with the U.S. delegation. It is reported that the delegation also includes Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ravanji, Deputy Minister of Law and International Affairs Gharibabadi, and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei, among other diplomats. A member of the negotiation team stated that the focus of this round of talks will be solely on nuclear issues, and any media speculation about other potential topics is false and cannot be confirmed. Regarding the Federal Reserve, Fed Governor Cook said that the Fed must bring inflation back to target levels in the near term, which is crucial for maintaining its credibility. Cook believes that the current risk is skewed toward higher inflation, while economic outlook uncertainties remain high. On the economic data front, the Challenger layoffs in the U.S. surged to 108,400 in January, with only about 5,300 new jobs added, both marking the worst figures in 17 years for the same period. The number of job openings in December last year dropped sharply to 6.54 million, the lowest since 2020. Initial unemployment claims last week unexpectedly increased by 22,000 to 231,000. Currently, silver prices continue to decline significantly, and short-term risk-off sentiment in the U.S. stock market remains difficult to fully clear. Liquidity restrictions may be one of the main reasons triggering a sharp decline; silver itself is also expected to remain highly volatile. (Huatai Futures)