Silver September futures opened at $68.20/ounce on Friday (August 21), up 0.1% from Thursday's closing price. As of 9 AM ET, silver prices had risen to $69.49/ounce. Since last week, silver's opening price has cumulatively increased by nearly 5%, primarily influenced by record-high US debt and the US Treasury's unexpected announcement of increased long-term bond buybacks. These factors have led to a weakening of the US dollar, which in turn has supported silver prices.