English
Gold Rises, Silver Surpasses $66 as US Rate Cut Bets Renew
Silver prices surged past $66 for the first time on Wednesday, December 17, while gold also rose as weak US jobs data revived expectations of an interest rate cut, putting pressure on the dollar and boosting demand for precious metals.
Silver jumped 4% in spot trading to a record high of $66.30 an ounce, while gold followed suit, rising 0.7% to $4,332 an ounce. US gold futures also climbed 0.7% to $4,364.
Silver has gained 126% this year, outperforming gold, which has risen 65% annually.
Brian Lan, managing director of GoldSilver Central, said that “many year-end summaries have shown that the best-performing asset class has been precious metals,” attributing today’s silver rally to “speculative flows,” according to Reuters.
This surge followed US data showing the unemployment rate in the United States climbed to 4.6% in November, exceeding the 4.4% forecast in a Reuters poll.
Lan added that the unemployment data boosted precious metals and weakened the dollar, prompting investors to seek alternative asset classes offering higher returns as a hedge against risk.
The dollar index approached its lowest level in more than two months, which it touched on Tuesday, making dollar-denominated bullion more attractive to overseas buyers.
Investors are now awaiting key US inflation readings, with the Consumer Price Index due on Thursday and the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, due on Friday.
As for other precious metals, platinum rose 2.5% to $1,896.40, its highest level in more than 14 years, while palladium settled at $1,602.60 after climbing to its highest level in two months.
