According to Jinshi, Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said that precious metal prices broke through the recent trading range and rose due to signs that the US economy is slowing. Both metals traded higher before the US July 4th National Day holiday after data showed that the US service industry contracted at the fastest rate in four years in June due to a sharp decline in business activity and a decrease in orders. This has reversed some of the recent gains in the US dollar, weakened US Treasury yields, and further exacerbated expectations of rate cuts, which is a positive for precious metals.