Gold, silver prices rise amid U.S.-Iran tensions, blowout January payrolls data

Gold prices rose on Wednesday, as investors parsed the implications of a blowout U.S. January jobs report. Haven-linked demand was also high amid U.S.-Iran tensions.

At 14:47 ET (19:47 GMT), Spot gold was up 1.2% to $5,087.31 an ounce, while gold futures for April rose 1.6% to $5,111.66/oz.

Spot silver rose 4.5% to $84.4145/oz, while spot platinum added 2.2% to $2,146.90/oz.

Traders pare rate cut bets on strong jobs report

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 130k in January, U.S. government data showed, much higher than the expected figure of 66k. Additionally, the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3% from 4.4% in December 2025.

The comfortable headline beat led to market participants dialing back their expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. Usually, this would be a negative for gold and other non-yielding assets, as lower borrowing rates are more favorable.

"Commodities are advancing across the board in light of a brighter outlook for hiring and economic activity," José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, said.

Still, markets remained broadly uncertain over U.S. monetary policy, especially after President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as the next chairman of the Fed.

Warsh is viewed as a less dovish pick, a notion that had triggered steep losses in metal markets since late-January.

Beyond the payrolls data, attention this week is also on consumer price index inflation data, which is expected to come out on Friday. Labor market strength and inflation are the Fed’s two biggest considerations for adjusting interest rates.

Metals looks for direction after historic rout

Precious metal prices logged small losses on Tuesday after U.S. retail sales data for December read softer than expected.

ANZ analysts noted that gold’s recent rally was stalled by concerns that the metal had run "run too hard, too fast."

"With speculative positioning now largely washed out of the market, traders are looking for the next catalyst for another run higher. Weak economic data in the US prompted some buying," ANZ analysts said.

Warsh’s nomination at the end of January sparked a sharp rise in the dollar, which in turn led to a spectacular unwind in the precious metals trade. Gold and silver logged some of their worst days on record. They have since searched for direction last week and this week.

The dollar index was little changed on Wednesday.

Second U.S. aircraft carrier in the Middle East

Safe-haven demand was also high on Wednesday amid U.S-Iran tensions. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. was preparing to deploy a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, citing three U.S. officials.

President Trump on his Truth Social service said he had insisted to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that negotiations with Iran continue "to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated."