Gold Dips Slightly as Silver and Platinum Outperform Ahead of U.S. CPI and Major Central Bank Decisions

Gold prices edged modestly lower in Asian trading on Thursday, while silver hovered near record highs, as investors paused after a strong rally and awaited key U.S. inflation data alongside a series of pivotal central bank policy decisions.

Spot gold slipped 0.1% to $4,334.48 an ounce, while February gold futures fell 0.2% to $4,364.90/oz by 00:42 ET (05:42 GMT). The mild pullback reflected profit-taking after a sharp advance over the past week, driven by rising uncertainty around the U.S. economic outlook.

In contrast, silver and platinum continued to outperform. Spot silver rose 0.5% to $66.5095/oz, remaining close to Wednesday’s record high of $66.90. Platinum surged to as high as $1,977.80/oz, bringing prices back within sight of their all-time peak above $2,200/oz.

On a weekly basis, the divergence within precious metals has been pronounced. While gold has gained roughly 0.7%, silver is up more than 7%, and platinum has surged over 12%, underscoring strong investor appetite for metals tied to both safe-haven demand and tighter supply dynamics.

U.S. economic uncertainty underpins haven demand

Despite the modest pullback in gold, underlying safe-haven demand remained firm. Markets have been grappling with mixed signals from recent U.S. economic data, particularly around the labor market, while the Federal Reserve’s renewed asset-buying operations have raised fresh questions about liquidity conditions and the broader health of the economy.

Attention is now firmly on U.S. consumer price index (CPI) data, due later on Thursday. Headline inflation is expected to tick slightly higher, while core CPI is forecast to remain steady at around 3% year-on-year. Inflation and employment remain the Fed’s two primary policy inputs, but investors are increasingly wary of a potential stagflationary scenario, where elevated inflation coincides with a weakening labor market.

Concerns over such an outcome have helped fuel outsized flows into gold and other precious metals in recent sessions.

Geopolitical risks have also added to the defensive tone. Lingering uncertainty around Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations—particularly disagreements over territorial concessions and frozen Russian overseas assets—has continued to support demand for traditional havens.

Central bank decisions add to market tension

Beyond U.S. data, markets are bracing for a busy slate of central bank decisions. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank are set to announce policy decisions on Thursday, followed by the Bank of Japan on Friday.

• The BOE is widely expected to deliver a 25-basis-point rate cut, aimed at supporting a struggling U.K. economy.
• The ECB is expected to keep rates unchanged after easing earlier this year, as recent data suggests a degree of resilience in the eurozone.
• The BOJ, by contrast, is seen as an outlier, with markets largely pricing in a 25-basis-point rate hike amid persistent yen weakness and sticky domestic inflation.

Investors will be closely watching guidance from all three central banks, particularly their assessments of economic conditions heading into 2026, as concerns grow over slowing growth across developed economies.

In this environment, precious metals, especially silver and platinum—continue to benefit from a rare convergence of macro uncertainty, geopolitical risk, and supply-side constraints, even as gold consolidates near elevated levels.