The U.S. economy delivered a mixed picture this week, with employment data exceeding forecasts even as broader indicators pointed to a decelerating growth trajectory. The divergence highlights the complexity facing policymakers as they navigate an economy showing pockets of strength alongside signs of cooling momentum.

Precious metals extended their blockbuster 2025 rally on Monday, with silver leading the charge higher as disappointing manufacturing data rekindled expectations for additional Federal Reserve rate cuts and weighed on the U.S. dollar.

The precious metals complex closed the week in historic fashion, with gold and silver both registering record weekly closes while palladium surged to levels not witnessed since 2011. Silver futures settled at $62.13, representing a weekly gain of $3.34 or 5.68%, while gold futures advanced $103.50 or 2.45% to trade around $4,332 at the time of writing.

The precious metals market continues to exhibit remarkable strength, with silver achieving a new all-time high and gold advancing toward its own record levels. This sustained momentum reflects both technical pattern confirmation and fundamental support from persistent U.S. dollar weakness, creating a compelling narrative for investors monitoring these traditional safe-haven assets.

Gold futures reversed earlier losses following the Federal Reserve's 25-basis-point rate cut announced at 2:00 PM ET. The yellow metal surged $35 in the hour after the decision, reaching an intraday high of $4,268. Although prices retreated from that peak, gold continued trading firmly above $4,250, last seen at $4,257—up $20.40 or 0.49% on the day.

Both gold and silver are trading moderately higher today as traders position themselves ahead of the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy decision, scheduled for announcement at 2:00 PM EST Wednesday following the conclusion of this month's FOMC meeting.

Silver traded near its all-time high on Monday, supported by the strongest weekly inflows to exchange-traded funds since July. The precious metal has nearly doubled in value this year, with most gains concentrated in the past two months, while gold traded relatively flat.

Friday's economic data releases reinforced market expectations for monetary policy easing while precious metals continued their divergent trajectories, with silver challenging record highs even as gold retreated from recent gains.

Inflation Data Meets Expectations

Market participants continue to parse through conflicting employment data from November, as divergent signals from multiple labor market indicators have created uncertainty heading into next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Both gold and silver opened December with a bang as silver surged to a new nominal all-time high above $58 per ounce, while gold recovered from profit-taking to consolidate near $4,232 positioning both metals for potential further gains ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.