Precious metals soar, dip and soar again

It’s been a rollercoaster session for precious metals. Both gold and silver were firmer this morning. Gold built on yesterday’s gains and looked quite a bit healthier than it did on Monday. Meanwhile silver was inching closer to $29 per ounce. Less than a fortnight ago, silver had dropped to within a cent of $26, so it has manged to stage an impressive recovery since then. Both metals appear to be getting some support from US dollar weakness this morning. But the US inflation update put a rocket under both metals. Core and Headline CPIs came out in line with expectations. This led to a strong relief rally across all risk assets, and a sharp pull-back in the dollar and bond yields. Expectations for two 25 basis point rate cuts rose, and the prospect of a rate hike has evaporated. This seems quite a lot to infer from an inflation print which came in only a tad lower than the prior month’s disappointing readings, while still well above the Fed’s target. Gold and silver rallied sharply, then gave back all their gains, then rallied again. Both metals are gaining some upside momentum now, and that upturn has come from a low base. That should help to support prices, although traders should expect even more volatility now from the two precious metals.