Silver Price Forecast: XAG/USD rises to near $48.50 as Fed rate cut bets increase

• Silver price appreciates on rising odds of a Fed rate cut in December, following soft Challenger Job Cuts data.
• CME FedWatch Tool suggests pricing in a 67% chance of a cut in December, down from 62% a day ago.
• The safe-haven Silver attracts buyers as the US government shutdown persists.

Silver price (XAG/USD) gains ground after recovering losses registered in the previous session, trading around $48.40 per troy ounce during the Asian hours on Friday. The non-interest-bearing Silver attracts buyers after soft United States (US) Challenger Job Cuts data increased the likelihood of the Federal Reserve (Fed) delivering a 25-basis-point rate cut in December.

Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported on Thursday that US companies announced over 153,000 job cuts in October, the highest for the month in more than two decades. The data tempered optimism from the rebound in ADP payrolls and kept uncertainty over the US labor market elevated. Markets are increasingly relying on private-sector reports, while the US government shutdown is restricting official data releases like Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) and Unemployment Rate.

St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said late Thursday that inflation risks remain tilted to the upside. Musalem noted that while tariffs are currently adding upward pressure to prices, their impact is expected to diminish next year. Fed funds futures traders are now pricing in a 67% chance of a cut in December, down from 62% a day ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Additionally, the safe-haven demand for precious metals, including Silver, increases as the US government shutdown extends further, hitting a record with still no solution in sight. The Senate is not currently set to vote on a House-passed measure to reopen the government on Thursday, after it failed to advance for the 14th time on Tuesday.