Silver futures gain nearly 6%; gold settles at its highest in 2 weeks

Silver futures rallied on Monday by nearly 6%, while gold futures finished at their highest in two weeks, with both precious metals getting a boost from weakness in the U.S. dollar. "Whether the metals can kick on from here or go in reverse depends almost entirely on the direction of U.S. dollar," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com. The dollar "will face a big test on Tuesday with the release of U.S. CPI data, which is surely going to be the main focal point for the week." December gold rose $12, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,740.60 an ounce on Comex, the highest finish for a most-active contract since Aug. 29, FactSet data show. December silver added $1.09, or 5.8%, to settle at $19.86 an ounce, the highest since Aug. 17.

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