Gold Prices Today, October 31, 2026: $2,847 Gains 1.9% on Week as Yields Fall

Gold enters the weekend at record altitude. Spot bullion settled near $2,847 an ounce on Friday after printing an all-time high of $2,852 earlier in the session, completing a fourth consecutive weekly gain of roughly 1.9% and extending a 2026 advance of more than 30%. Silver held near $35.10, up about 2.4% on the week. With cash markets closed and month-end fixings complete, the weekend tape is quiet — but the position it leaves behind is not.

The jobs report was the trigger. Average hourly earnings cooling to 3.5% year over year pulled the 10-year TIPS real yield down about five basis points, trimming the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset just as the dollar index slipped back toward 101.3. World Gold Council data show global gold ETF holdings added 41 tonnes in September, evidence that Western allocation demand has rejoined the official-sector trade, while managed-money net longs in futures remain elevated without the extremes seen in August 2020.

Structural demand still sets the floor. Official-sector purchases reached 213 tonnes in the third quarter, and bullion-backed holdings stand at their highest in three years, according to World Gold Council figures. Mining equities have levered the move — the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index is up more than 42% year to date — and second-tier producers broadened their rally on Friday as smaller names caught up with the majors. "Weekend liquidity is thin enough that a $20 gap on Monday's open would tell you nothing," said Elena Marchetti, commodities strategist at Aurora Metals. "The trade that matters is whether Wednesday's ISM prices-paid number resets real yields — that is a $60 question, not a $20 one."

The level map is straightforward. $2,900 is the next psychological milestone, with physical premiums in key Asian hubs holding firm as confirmation that the rally is being met by real demand rather than financial flows alone. The risk sits on Wednesday's ISM services print: a prices-paid reading above 58 would rebuild December Fed hike odds from their current 68%, lift real yields and challenge the record. The December 9-10 FOMC remains a genuine two-sided meeting — the sweet spot for bullion's hedging bid.