As its record-setting year continues, gold is on its way to posting its strongest annual performance since 1979, up an impressive 58 percent year-to-date as of Wednesday (November 12). The yellow metal once again broke past US$4,200 per ounce this week, moving closer to its all-time high of US$4,379.13, reached on October 17. Silver is up 80 percent year-to-date and also on track for its best year ever. The silver spot price rose on Thursday (November 13) morning to just a few cents shy of its record price of US$54.47 per ounce. Silver futures hit a new record high of US$54.415 per ounce in early morning trading. Gold rallied this week even amid news that the longest US government shutdown in history was coming to an end — typically the sort of development that would lessen demand for safe-haven assets. Yet continued labor market weakness in the US is priming…
