Silver prices hit fresh record highs on Wednesday, above $66 per ounce.
Gold prices also advanced on Wednesday, with softer labour market data from the US on Tuesday signalling a cooling economy.
Meanwhile, oil prices jumped more than 2% as US President Donald Trump ordered the blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
Silver hits record high
The silver contract on COMEX rose more than 4% to hit $66.630 per ounce for the first time.
The rally was fueled by a mixed US employment report, according to a FXstreet report.
While job creation surpassed expectations, the unemployment rate climbed to 4.6% in November—the highest level since 2021.
This ambiguity in the labour market data spurred investor interest in high-return assets for portfolio diversification.
The nearly 130% year-to-date gain in silver is underpinned by several factors: decreasing inventories, strong demand from retail investors, and robust industrial consumption.
This industrial demand is particularly fueled by growth in key sectors like solar energy, electric vehicles (EVs), and data centres.
“Upside momentum remains strong, with the daily MACD pushing even further up into seriously overbought territory,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
That is undoubtedly a danger sign. But it’s one that everyone can see, and, as said before, markets can remain overbought, or oversold, for seemingly ridiculous periods of time.
Due to the relatively small size of the silver market, prices can be significantly driven up when there is a surge in buying activity, Morrison added.
Gold edges higher
Gold prices also rose as the prospect of further easing of monetary policy by the US Fed remained high.
Lower interest rates benefit non-yielding commodities such as bullion.
Gold is currently finding support from several factors, including the dovish outlook for the Federal Reserve, ongoing economic uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions, according to ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista.
Despite an increase of 64,000 in nonfarm payrolls, the US unemployment rate climbed to 4.6% in November, reaching its highest point since September 2021.
Last week, the Federal Reserve delivered its third and final quarter-point rate cut for the year.
Chair Jerome Powell’s subsequent comments were interpreted as less hawkish than anticipated.
Following this, traders are now pricing in two 25-basis-point cuts for 2026.
This week, market focus will be on crucial US inflation data, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) due on Thursday and the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data following on Friday.
Morrison said:
Today’s move was supported by a softer dollar and increased confidence that US interest rates are likely to trend lower in 2026, reducing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets.
Oil jumps
Oil prices saw a sharp rebound overnight, continuing their rally this morning.
This upward trend was sparked by President Trump’s order for a complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.
At the time of writing, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude was at $56.10 per barrel, up 1.8%, while Brent was 1.7% higher at $59.93 a barrel.
On Tuesday, Trump announced an order for a blockade against all sanctioned oil tankers moving into and out of Venezuela.
He also stated that he now views the nation’s leadership as a foreign terrorist organisation.
“Russian risks are well telegraphed, but there are clear risks to the Venezuelan oil supply,” ING Group head of commodities strategy Warren Patterson said in a note.
Following the US seizure of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast last week, Venezuela’s oil exports for November totalled approximately 600,000 barrels per day.
Patterson said:
It’s likely that these volumes will fall given the latest developments. The bulk of this oil is shipped to China.
Despite strong Chinese oil imports, recent reports indicate the country is accumulating these resources as a stockpile rather than immediately utilising them for manufacturing or other purposes.
US inventories showed a significant drop, which helped to bolster prices.
Market sources, citing Tuesday’s American Petroleum Institute figures, indicated that crude stocks fell by 9.3 million barrels last week.
This decline is substantially greater than the 1.1 million-barrel drop forecasted by analysts in a Reuters poll, and is awaiting confirmation from the Energy Information Administration’s data due later on Wednesday.
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