Gold ripped 4% higher to $4,233.89 an ounce on Wednesday, its biggest one-day advance since February, as a soft private payrolls report and easing energy costs knocked down the odds of another Federal Reserve rate hike.
ADP said private employers added just 44,000 jobs in July, the weakest in six months and well below the 70,000 consensus, while the ISM Services PMI came in at 54.1 versus 54.5 expected, with its employment sub-index sliding back into contraction at 47.4.
Silver rallied 3.9% to $61.85 an ounce, a six-week peak, though it remains down 13.2% in 2026.
U.S. equity indices were little moved in midday trading, with cyclical value leading and megacap growth lagging.
The S&P 500 hovered at 7,739, essentially unchanged and clinging to record territory, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 459 points, or 0.9%, to 54,545.
