Gold price today tops $4,100 as softer oil cools inflation while silver moves toward a record

Gold is back above $4,100 in Monday trading, and the reason is not what the rate market would have you expect. The metal gained 1.4% to $4,132.70 on futures (GC=F) and 1.3% to $4,123.59 on spot, according to Yahoo Finance and Trading Economics, even as traders price roughly 81% odds of a quarter-point Federal Reserve hike in December, up from 71% before Friday's employment report. The bid is softer oil. When crude slides, headline inflation expectations ease with it, and that cushion is letting gold climb against the current of hawkish Fed pricing. Silver is the higher-beta version of the same trade, up about 1.9% to $52.94 and testing the $52.95 intraday reference it set on November 5.

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