Precious metals staged a decisive comeback Friday as physical gold climbed back above $4,500 per ounce and silver pushed past $76, recovering from a bruising mid-week selloff after April inflation data matched Wall Street expectations and Washington confirmed a 60-day extension of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
Spot gold traded at $4,543.25 per ounce on May 29, 2026, up $40.01 or 0.89% on the day, according to CNBC Select. The recovery follows Thursday's slide to $4,380, the weakest level since late March, when fresh military tensions with Iran sent the dollar sharply higher and reignited stagflation concerns. Silver tracked the rebound, with the spot price quoted at $76.42 per ounce by JM Bullion in early Friday trade and July futures opening at $76.02, up roughly 4.6% from the prior session, per Yahoo Finance.
Inflation Data Cools Tightening Fears
The catalyst for the metals rally was the April Personal Consumption Expenditures report released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday. Headline PCE rose 0.4% on the month and 3.8% year-over-year, up from March's 3.5% annual pace. Core PCE — the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge — increased 0.2% for the month and 3.3% year-over-year, ticking up from 3.2% in March but landing exactly in line with consensus forecasts, CNBC reported.
The "in line" print was enough to cool fears of an accelerated tightening cycle. Goods prices fell 0.1% from March even as they ran 1.2% higher than a year ago, while services inflation remained the sticky component at 2.5% annually. The Dallas Fed's Trimmed Mean PCE — which strips out the most volatile categories — registered 2.3% over the trailing twelve months.
Fed Cuts Off the Table
Despite the relief rally in commodities, analysts widely agreed the report does not give the Federal Open Market Committee cover to ease policy at upcoming meetings. With core PCE running at 3.3%, well above the Fed's 2% objective, the bar for rate cuts remains high. CNN Business noted that inflation is now at a three-year high on the headline measure, and many American households are drawing down savings to absorb the squeeze.
Fox Business framed the report as reflecting elevated price pressures "amid Iran war" disruptions, underscoring how geopolitics has tangled the inflation picture. Energy-linked goods prices and shipping costs spiked during the spring conflict, before pulling back this week on truce news.
Geopolitics and the Ceasefire Bid
The 60-day ceasefire extension announced Thursday evening pulled safe-haven demand for the dollar lower and allowed real rates to ease, both supportive for non-yielding metals. Silver, with its larger industrial demand component, outperformed gold on the session as risk appetite returned to base metals and equities. The metal had been trading at $75.87 per troy ounce earlier in the week, up just 0.37% on the day, before the truce headline triggered a sharper move.
Outlook
With PCE confirming a still-elevated inflation backdrop and the Fed signaling patience, traders are likely to stay focused on next month's CPI print and any further geopolitical shifts. For now, gold holding above the $4,500 handle and silver retaking $76 suggests bullion buyers are willing to defend recent ranges even as the macro picture stays murky.
Sources: CNBC Select, Fortune, Yahoo Finance, CNN Business, Fox Business, Dallas Fed, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis