Gold gained approximately 1.5%, while silver surged nearly 3%, an impressive move considering the continued strength in the dollar. We also heard reports of strong physical buying out of China, which remains an important market to watch. That follows September’s reported increase in China’s official gold reserves of roughly 740,000 ounces—the largest monthly addition in approximately three years. The combination of central-bank demand, physical buying and continued investor interest reinforces the longer-term structural story for precious metals, even as higher U.S. rates, a strong dollar and geopolitical uncertainty continue to create significant short-term volatility. After a turbulent week, today’s price action was notable: precious metals were able to rally strongly despite the traditional headwind of a stronger dollar. Silver’s outperformance was particularly encouraging and will be worth watching into next week. At WatchGold.org, we’ll continue watching the physical market, implied EFPs, volatility and global flows for clues about what comes next.For educational and informational purposes only.

This commentary reflects market observations and opinions and is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security, commodity or financial instrument.