Feb 2 (Reuters) - Silver prices fell more than 2% on Tuesday as investors booked profits following a rally of as much as 11.2% to a near eight-year peak in the previous session.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot silver XAG= was down 1.7% to $28.48 an ounce by 0039 GMT, having hit $30.03 on Monday, its highest since February 2013.
* Silver prices rocketed as retail investors, egged on by messages on Reddit, pile into the market in an attempt to push up prices. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is "closely monitoring" recent activity in silver markets, the agency's acting chairman said on Monday, as last week's volatility in securities markets spilled into trading of the precious metal. CME Group Inc CME.O on Monday raised Comex 5000 Silver Futures margins by 17.9% to $16,500 per contract from $14,000 for February. L1N2K800V
* The retail investment frenzy in silver has left dealers from the United States to Singapore scrambling for bars and coins to meet demand. Spot gold XAU= eased 0.2% to $1,856.86 per ounce. U.S. gold futures GCv1 shed 0.3% to $1,858.60.
* Top Democrats in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives filed a joint $1.9 trillion budget measure on Monday, in a step toward bypassing Republicans on COVID-19 relief before President Joe Biden met with Republican senators. India slashed import duties on gold and silver on Monday in a surprise move that industry officials say could boost retail demand and curtail smuggling. China's gold consumption fell by almost a fifth in 2020, the China Gold Association said on Monday. Platinum XPT= declined 1.4% at $1,111.80 and palladium XPD= shed 0.3% to $2,239.03.
DATA/EVENTS AHEAD (GMT) 0700 UK
Nationwide house price
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