Gold prices climbed on Friday after dovish signals from the Federal Reserve fueled strong gains across precious metal markets this week, while silver remained close to record highs.
By 07:45 ET (12:45 GMT), spot gold rose 1.2% to $4,330.02 per ounce, while March gold futures advanced 1.2% to $4,366.65 an ounce.
Gold on track for weekly gains after dovish Fed signals
Spot gold was up nearly 3% for the week, with most of the gains coming after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates as expected and delivered a less hawkish outlook on future monetary policy.
Although Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that the bar for additional rate cuts remains high, his overall tone was softer than markets had anticipated. A key development was the Fed’s announcement that it will begin purchasing shorter-dated U.S. Treasuries at a pace of $40 billion per month, effective immediately.
The renewed asset purchases are expected to boost market liquidity and loosen financial conditions, increasing investor appetite for speculative and hard assets such as precious metals.
Other metals also benefited from this shift in sentiment. Spot platinum surged 3.1% to $1,775.10 per ounce and was up more than 6% for the week. Among industrial metals, London Metal Exchange copper futures dipped slightly to $11,798.65 per ton, but still posted a weekly gain of 1.3%.
Hopes for additional stimulus measures in China, the world’s largest copper importer, kept LME copper on course for a third consecutive weekly advance.
Silver holds near record highs
Silver significantly outperformed this week, supported by supply shortage expectations, steady safe-haven demand, and the Fed’s dovish rate outlook.
Spot silver was little changed at $64.560 per ounce, staying close to its record high of $64.953. Prices were on track for a weekly gain of more than 9%, marking a third straight week of advances.
Silver has more than doubled in value this year, driven by its role as a safe-haven asset comparable to gold but at a lower price point, making it more accessible to investors.
More recently, forecasts of a potential supply shortfall in 2026, combined with silver’s classification as a critical metal by the U.S. government, have further fueled the rally in spot prices.
