Gold and silver, long regarded as mirrors of human anxiety and monetary trust, have broken sharply higher after a punishing summer that erased much of their historic January peaks. The shift reflects a weakening dollar and a Treasury signal that policy winds may be turning — though the Federal Reserve's likely December rate hike looms as a reminder that the path of money is rarely straight. For investors who had quietly abandoned precious metals through the long summer lull, August has offered a reason to look again.