Gold climbed to about $4,121 an ounce on Thursday, its highest level in two weeks, as the dollar and Treasury yields fell for a second straight session. Silver did not keep pace. The metal rose less than 1%, and the gold-silver ratio widened to roughly 78.

Spot gold was up about 1.5%, or $60, in New York morning trading, according to precious metals dealer USAGOLD. Silver traded near $52.78, up about 1%. The rally cooled later in the day: price feeds on the USAGOLD and World Gold Council websites showed gold near $4,097 and silver just under $52 later on Thursday.

For investors in Asia, the split matters. Silver usually outruns gold in a relief rally because its market is smaller and tied to industrial demand. Thursday's pattern suggested the second day of buying came mainly from investors seeking a hedge against a weaker dollar, not from fast money chasing the more volatile metal.

Gold-silver ratio climbs back above 78

The ratio measures how many ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold. It had fallen to 77.2 on Wednesday, when silver jumped about 4.6% and gold gained about 3% after the dollar slid following the U.S. midterm elections, USAGOLD said. On Thursday it moved back to about 78.1. The ratio had stood at 78.8 on Tuesday.

Silver remains well below its levels of a month ago. The metal was quoted at $52.85 early Thursday, according to Fortune, down about 13% from $60.76 a month earlier but up about 10% from a year ago. Gold has recovered faster. It has gained roughly $225, or close to 6%, since Oct. 30, when USAGOLD put it at $3,897, near the bottom of a late-October selloff.

USAGOLD said the long-run gold-silver ratio tends to settle near 60, a level that would imply silver is cheap against gold at current prices. The dealer sells both metals, and such reversion is not guaranteed: silver's industrial use makes it more sensitive to the economic cycle than gold.

Thursday's data did little to slow bullion. The Bank of England raised its key rate by a quarter point to 4%, its first increase in more than three years, on an 8-1 vote, USAGOLD reported. U.S. initial jobless claims fell to 189,000, below economists' expectations of about 196,000. A rate increase abroad tends to lift other currencies against the dollar, which lowers the cost of gold for buyers outside the U.S.

ETF holdings at a record as Asian bar demand splits

Data from the World Gold Council released on Tuesday show where the steadier demand has come from. Global gold exchange-traded funds added 211 tons in the third quarter, reversing outflows in the second quarter and lifting holdings to a record 4,256 tons. Third-quarter inflows were a record US$31 billion in value, the council said, driven by concerns over fiscal sustainability and inflation, among other factors.

Central banks bought 321 tons in the quarter, up 42% from a year earlier and well above the five-year quarterly average of 227 tons. Only about 120 tons of that was publicly reported, led by China and Poland, according to the council. Purchases so far this year total 675 tons, 6% ahead of the same period of 2025.

Retail buyers have been more cautious, and Asia's two largest markets have moved in opposite directions. Global bar and coin demand fell 19% from a year earlier to 268 tons. In India it dropped 40% to 55 tons, while in mainland China it rose 7% to 78.9 tons, the council said. Jewelry consumption fell 17% to 313 tons, the weakest third quarter in the council's data series, as high prices deterred buyers.

The council's figures also point to tight supply growth. Mine output rose 3% to a third-quarter record of 1,071 tons, but recycling fell 8% to a three-year low of 314 tons. The LBMA afternoon gold price averaged $4,262 an ounce in the third quarter, 23% higher than a year earlier, so Thursday's level remains below the quarter's average.

Payrolls next

The next test for both metals is the U.S. October nonfarm payrolls report, due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time on Friday (9:30 p.m. in Hong Kong). A strong reading could revive the dollar and pressure gold. A weak one would add to the case for lower U.S. yields. For silver, the question is whether the ratio narrows again from 78, or whether gold keeps doing the work on its own.