Silver’s 100% Gain Takes a Breather as Gold Traders Eye Fed

Daily News Nuggets | Today’s top stories for gold and silver investors 
December 4th, 2025 

Silver Takes a Breather After Historic Run 

Silver pulled back from its all-time high of $58.98, up 100% year-to-date, as traders locked in profits following an eight-day winning streak. The metal has roughly doubled in value this year and is still trading near $57-58 per ounce—on track for its best annual performance since 1979. 

The rally has been fueled by supply tightness and expectations for lower US borrowing costs. London vaults have been emptying rapidly. Meanwhile, Shanghai inventories recently hit their lowest levels in a decade.

Despite the short-term pullback, the fundamental story remains intact. Persistent supply deficits, surging industrial demand from EVs and AI components, and the metal’s addition to the US critical minerals list continue to support long-term bullish sentiment.

Gold followed a similar script, pulling back slightly as traders await clearer signals from the Fed.

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Gold Consolidates Ahead of Fed Decision 

Gold edged lower as investors booked profits ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting. Spot prices dipped 0.2% to around $4,197 per ounce after recently hovering near record highs above $4,200. 

Markets are pricing in an 89% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed’s December 9-10 meeting. Continued easing typically benefits non-yielding assets like gold and silver. However, the bigger question isn’t whether the Fed will cut. It’s what signals Chair Jerome Powell sends about the path forward.

ANZ strategist Soni Kumari noted that any slide toward $4,000 would likely attract new buyers. That’s due to gold’s strong fundamental backing.

Those Fed rate-cut bets got fresh support from this week’s labor market data.

Jobless Claims Hit Three-Year Low 

US applications for unemployment benefits fell to 191,000 last week — the lowest level since September 2022. That’s well below the 221,000 analysts expected and suggests layoffs remain subdued despite broader economic uncertainty. 

However, the data complicates the narrative around labor market health. It could influence the Fed’s thinking on rate cuts. Initial claims signal stability in existing jobs. But continuing claims rose to 1.97 million, the highest level since 2021.

That suggests unemployed workers are having a harder time finding new positions. The divergence points to a labor market that’s cooling but not collapsing. It’s a fine line the Fed will need to navigate.

While labor data suggests resilience, commodity markets are flashing warning signs about global demand.

Saudi Arabia Slashes Oil Prices to Five-Year Low 

Saudi Arabia cut the price of its flagship Arab Light crude to Asia to the lowest level in five years — a 60-cent premium over the regional benchmark for January. That’s the lowest since January 2021 and reflects persistent oversupply in global oil markets. 

The cut was bigger than the expected 30-cent reduction, signaling Riyadh’s willingness to sacrifice price for market share as demand softens. Lower oil prices typically ease inflationary pressures, but they also signal weaker global growth—exactly the kind of environment where investors seek safe-haven assets like precious metals. 

BlackRock: US Debt Could Fuel Bitcoin’s Rise 

The world’s largest asset manager released its 2026 Global Outlook this week, suggesting that US federal debt — now surpassing $38 trillion — could accelerate institutional adoption of Bitcoin. BlackRock argues that traditional hedges are losing reliability amid mounting fiscal pressures, making Bitcoin increasingly appealing as a complementary asset. 

The report positions Bitcoin as “digital gold,” with BlackRock’s own Bitcoin ETF accumulating $100 billion in assets. For precious metals investors, this isn’t a competitive threat — it’s confirmation of the broader narrative driving gold and silver higher: fiscal fragility, currency debasement concerns, and the search for stores of value outside traditional government bonds. Whether investors choose physical metal or digital tokens, the underlying worry remains the same.  

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