Silver jumped on Monday 9 November, outpacing gold, as softer oil prices eased inflation worries and a weaker dollar lifted precious metals ahead of key United States inflation data on Tuesday.

Spot silver climbed 2.5 percent to $53.15 an ounce, while COMEX silver futures traded at $53.31, up $1.368 or 2.63 percent from the previous close of $51.61. Spot gold rose 1.4 percent to $4,123.46 an ounce, with COMEX gold futures at $4,134.10, up $59.20 or 1.45 percent. Platinum gained 1.3 percent to $1,553.23 and palladium rose 2.1 percent to $1,045.11.

Strong week for both metals

The gains extended a strong week for precious metals. Silver gained about 5.4 percent last week to settle at $51.94 an ounce, while COMEX gold futures advanced around 4.5 percent to settle at $4,074.90. Gold had fallen to $3,870.10 on 30 October before climbing as high as $4,147.06 last Thursday, and silver is now holding above the $50 level that capped it for years.

Inflation test ahead

Attention now turns to Tuesday's October US consumer price index, the last major inflation reading before the Federal Reserve meets on 8 and 9 December. A strong US jobs report on Friday, which showed employers added 165,000 jobs in October against forecasts of 65,000, had lifted bets on higher interest rates. Traders now see a 79.6 percent chance the Fed will raise rates in December, according to the CME FedWatch tool, and higher rates raise the cost of holding gold and silver, which pay no interest.

Technical watchers say silver must break above $55 to open the way towards $60, while gold needs to clear $4,150. A hotter-than-expected inflation reading on Tuesday could stall both rallies and revive bets on tighter policy.