U.S. job vacancies exceeded expectations, and the U.S. dollar index rose.

Silver surged over 4%, breaking the $60 mark for the first time, with an increase of over 100% this year.

Gold also rose in tandem, but its gains were limited by the strengthening of the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields.

U.S. stocks traded cautiously ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision, with market focus on the dot plot and Powell's speech, a key focus being whether he hints at pausing interest rate cuts.

In my opinion, the suspense over a 25 basis point rate cut is not significant; Powell's speech after a rate cut will be key in determining the subsequent trend.

Will he hint that "this will be the last cut" or will he leave the market with some hope? Every word he uses will be magnified and interpreted by the market.

After the 25 basis point cut in October, Powell warned to be wary of an inflation rebound; the current inflation rate remains persistently above the Fed's 2% target, and factors like the divergence in labor market data and disruptions in economic data releases have further complicated the Fed's policy assessment. In the short term, market trends will closely follow news fluctuations.

Overall bullish outlook for gold and silver in the medium to long term: the initiation of the rate cut cycle, a weakening dollar, and declining real interest rates are the core driving factors, combined with global geopolitical risks and continued central bank gold purchases. Silver will also benefit from the recovery of industrial demand, and short-term price fluctuations will not change the medium to long-term upward trend.

Silver (XAG): 60.2-60.5 buy, target 62, 63.75.

Gold (XAU): 4200-4205 buy, target 4230, 4264.