Silver outpaces gold after disappointing US jobs report

Silver outpaces
gold

An unexpectedly weak US jobs report pushed both precious metals sharply higher on Friday, with silver even outrunning gold. Gold climbed to its highest level in seven weeks, silver to its highest level in six weeks. What this jump means if you want to sell your old gold or silver.

7 min read Updated on 7 August 2026 De Munter editorial

Gold and silver had their best day in weeks on Friday. A sharply disappointing US jobs report for July sent investors toward safe havens, and silver climbed even harder than gold. For anyone looking to sell old gold or silver, it is a clear example of how fast the market can turn on a single economic figure, and how wide the gap between the two metals can get on a day like that.

A surprisingly weak jobs report sets the tone

The US Department of Labor reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, against an expected gain of roughly 83,000. It is the first outright decline in months. June’s figure was also revised sharply lower. The unemployment rate did fall to 4.1 percent, but mainly because fewer Americans were still actively looking for work: the labor force participation rate dropped to 61.4 percent, its lowest level in more than five years. Wage growth slowed too, to 3.2 percent year on year, the weakest pace since May 2021.

23,000 fewer jobsinstead of the expected gain of roughly 83,000 jobs in July

Gold at a seven week high, silver at a six week high

The reaction across the metals markets was immediate. Gold rose, as of Kitco’s morning update, by 2.67 percent to around $4,352.60 per troy ounce, with an intraday peak above $4,370. On a weekly basis gold booked its strongest gain since January 19, putting the price at its highest level since mid June, seven weeks earlier. Silver did even better: the price jumped 4.2 percent to nearly $64 per troy ounce, its highest level in six weeks. Silver moving harder than gold is not unusual: the market is smaller and thinner, so the same wave of buying pushes the price proportionally further. Because silver rose faster than gold this time, the gold silver ratio, the number of troy ounces of silver needed to buy one troy ounce of gold, tightened slightly again. That ratio is purely a measure of proportion rather than a forecast, but it does show how the two metals have moved relative to each other over the past few days.

+4.2 percentsilver's gain on Friday, against 2.67 percent for gold

Why does a weak jobs report push the gold price higher?

The mechanism behind the jump is interest rates. After the disappointing figure, the market implied probability of a US rate hike in September dropped from just over 54 percent to around 44 percent, while the yield on ten year US Treasury notes fell back from 4.67 percent to about 4.60 percent. The dollar weakened too. Since neither metal pays interest itself, holding them becomes more attractive as soon as rate expectations ease. Analyst David Meger of High Ridge Futures told The Gold Forecast that the weaker than expected jobs data opens a scenario where the Fed is going to be less likely to raise interest rates, exactly the kind of shift gold and silver have historically reacted to most strongly.

What does this price jump mean for someone who wants to sell old gold or silver?

For anyone considering selling old gold, or offering up silver jewelry and cutlery, the underlying principle does not change: value depends on the actual precious metal content and weight, priced against that day’s rate. A day like Friday mainly shows how quickly that rate can swing on macroeconomic news. Waiting for an even higher price is not a strategy, since nobody can predict whether the market will keep climbing after a jump like this or reverse instead.

Practical tip

Not sure about the purity of your jewelry, coins or cutlery? A licensed buyer always determines the value with a purity test done at the moment you offer the piece, never on a rough estimate made in advance.

What are analysts forecasting?

Beyond the short term reaction to the jobs report, some banks are also venturing longer term views. According to The Gold Forecast, analysts at UBS expect the gold price could climb toward $5,000 per troy ounce in the first half of 2027. Forecasts like that are no guarantee, and certainly not investment or buying advice: they mainly show how far apart expectations within the sector still are, only weeks after the price had drifted back near $4,000. Back in early July, gold had already bounced just above $4,100 after another weak US jobs report, but that move stayed limited to a few days. This time the starting point is higher, and the rise comes on top of a week that was already the strongest since January, which makes moves in either direction especially sensitive to fresh news.

Sources

Want to read the original coverage? The sources are listed below, each with a date and link.

Frequently asked questions

What are nonfarm payrolls and why can they move the gold price so strongly? –

Nonfarm payrolls is the US figure that shows every month how many jobs were added or lost outside agriculture. Investors watch it closely because it is one of the earliest and most reliable gauges of how strong the American economy really is. When the figure badly misses expectations, investors often expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates more slowly, or cut them sooner. A lower rate outlook immediately makes gold and silver, which pay no interest themselves, more attractive. That is why a single monthly figure can move the price sharply within a few hours.

Why did the unemployment rate fall to 4.1 percent while jobs were being lost? +

That sounds contradictory, but the explanation lies in the labor force participation rate, the share of people who are working or actively looking for work. That rate dropped to 61.4 percent in July, its lowest level in more than five years. People who stop job hunting are no longer counted as unemployed, even though they still do not have a job. Fewer jobs combined with fewer active jobseekers can therefore still produce a lower official unemployment rate, even as the underlying labor market weakens.

Why does a lower chance of a Fed rate hike push the gold price higher? +

Anyone who parks money in a savings account or bonds earns interest on it. Gold and silver pay none, so holding them becomes relatively less attractive whenever rates rise or are expected to rise. After the weak jobs report, the market implied probability of a US rate hike in September dropped from just over 54 percent to around 44 percent, while the yield on ten year US Treasury notes fell back from 4.67 percent to about 4.60 percent. That combination lowers what is known as the opportunity cost of holding gold and silver, which immediately supports both metals.

Does a seven week high mean gold is now at a record price? +

No. Gold peaked above $5,000 earlier this year before cooling for months, down to a low near $4,000 in late July. Friday's jump brings the price back to its mid June level, the highest point in seven weeks, but still well below the peak from early 2026. Silver tells a similar story: its highest level in six weeks, not its highest level ever.

What does this price move actually mean for someone who wants to sell old gold or silver? +

A jump of several percent in a single day mostly shows how fast the price can move on macroeconomic news, in either direction. Anyone who wants to sell old gold, jewelry or coins is best served by valuing pieces on their actual purity and weight, priced against the rate on the day itself, rather than betting on where the price might sit tomorrow. De Munter values every piece at the moment it is offered, so a seller always gets that exact moment's rate.

Silver outpacesgold