Gold futures surged more than 1% in the middle of the holiday-shortened trading week as cooling labor market conditions added to bets that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates later this month and continue to ease monetary policy heading into 2026.
December gold futures soared $43.10, or 1.2%, to $3,635.30 per ounce at 15:30 GMT on Wednesday on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices, which reached a fresh intraday all-time high, are up almost 38% this year.
Silver, the sister commodity to gold, also topped $42 midweek. December silver futures rose $0.448, or 1.08%, to $42.04 per ounce. The white metal has even outpaced the yellow metal, surging close to 44% this year.
The metals market found support on multiple developments on Wednesday.
New Bureau of Labor Statistics data from the Job Openings and Turnover Survey report found that the number of job vacancies in July fell to 7.181 million, down from a downwardly revised 7.357 million. This came in below economists’ expectations of 7.4 million.
Factory orders tumbled 1.3%, while mortgage applications declined by 1.2%.
Despite the poor economic data, investors view these developments to be bullish, as the figures could prompt the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates for the first time since December.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the futures market signals a 92% chance of a quarter-point rate cut, lowering the benchmark federal funds rate from the current target range of 4.25% to 4.5%.
The Fed, which will hold its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy meeting later this month, has signaled that it will focus more on the employment side of its dual mandate over inflation.
Meanwhile, the main event this week will be the August jobs report. Early projections suggest the US economy created 75,000 new jobs, and the unemployment rate edged up to 4.3%. But economists also concentrate on revisions.
US Treasury yields were red across the board, with the benchmark ten-year yield falling 7.2 basis points to 4.205%. The two-year yield declined by five basis points to 3.608%, while the 30-year erased 7.9 basis points to 4.892%.
Gold is sensitive to fluctuating interest rates since they can impact the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), a gauge of the greenback against a weighted basket of currencies like the Japanese yen and British pound, sank 0.35% to 98.05, from an opening of 98.40. The DXY is down about 10% this year.
A weaker dollar is good for dollar-denominated commodities because it makes them cheaper for foreign investors to purchase.
In other metal markets, October copper futures slipped $0.0115, or 0.25%, to $4.578 per pound. October platinum futures surged $44.80, or 3.17%, to $1,457.00 an ounce. October palladium futures soared $35.20, or 3.05%, to $1,188.50 per ounce.