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Gold climbed to a two-month high on Wednesday and silver outran it after a tame reading of US inflation eased pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates as soon as next month.
Comex December gold touched $4,502.70 an ounce, the most-active contract’s highest print since mid-June, and was trading at $4,473.00 for a gain of 0.7% by early afternoon in New York. Spot gold rose as much as 1.6% to $4,438.20 and was 1.2% higher at $4,422.34 as of 11 a.m. in New York, extending Tuesday’s push to a two-month high, with central bank buying led by China underpinning the recovery.
Comex September silver climbed as much as 3.2% to $66.98 an ounce, also its highest since June, and held a 0.9% gain at $65.54. Spot silver added 2.4% to $66.25. The white metal is down about 8% in 2026, the hangover from January’s futures squeeze and the war-driven collapse that followed, even with the market expected to stay in deficit through the year. Platinum rose 0.9% to $1,771.30 and palladium 0.3% to $1,374 per ounce.
CME Group is opening round-the-clock trading in its 100-ounce silver futures from September, subject to regulatory approval, extending to silver the continuous access it gave retail traders in 1-ounce gold futures on July 24.
CPI in line
Consumer prices rose 0.1% in July from the previous month and 3.4% from a year earlier, matching the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The core measure that strips out food and energy rose 0.2% on the month and 2.5% on the year, matching the slowest annual pace since March 2021 and the second soft data point in a week after the US economy shed 23,000 jobs in July.
Interest-rate swaps still price a roughly 40% chance of a Fed hike in September, though the odds on an October move fell to about 60% from 75% a day earlier, with the next increase fully priced for December. Two-year Treasury yields, the most sensitive to policy expectations, fell three basis points to 4.18%, and the dollar was little changed. Higher rates weigh on gold because it pays no interest.
“Gold has defended the downside but has yet to confirm a renewed bull-market advance,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, in a Bloomberg note. “Support around $4,200 is increasingly important, while the major upside test is once again focusing on the 200-day moving average, currently sitting just below $4,500.” The December contract cleared that level on Wednesday, while spot bullion is still about $80 below it.
US crude wavered around $83 a barrel and Brent held most of this week’s gains, with no deal yet to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan’s defense minister said on Tuesday that Washington and Tehran were “close to some sort of arrangement” over the waterway, even as both sides toughened their public positions.
“With the Strait of Hormuz still shut, upside inflation risks will remain top of mind for the foreseeable future,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, in a Bloomberg note.
Miners run harder than the metal
Gold has gained about 9% since the end of July and silver 13%, and the equities have run at up to three times that pace in eight trading sessions.
Eldorado Gold is up 33% month to date, Equinox Gold 29%, Hecla Mining and Coeur Mining 27% each, Agnico Eagle 27% and Newmont 26%, with Gold Fields and Harmony Gold just behind.
Wheaton Precious Metals has added 24%, AngloGold Ashanti and Fresnillo 23% each, Pan American Silver 22% and Alamos Gold 21%, with Kinross Gold up 19% and Royal Gold 18%. Barrick Mining is up 11% for the month after the $1.95 billion Fourmile settlement with Newmont knocked shares on Monday, and Franco-Nevada has managed the same 11%. SPDR Gold Shares has returned 9%.
(With files from Bloomberg)
