Silver dropped below $80 per ounce on Wednesday, breaking a three-day rally as investors booked profits after the metal surged near record highs. Precious metals also broadly pulled back as the dollar strengthened ahead of a series of US economic reports that could shape the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook, culminating with Friday’s December jobs report. Meanwhile, Fed Governor Stephen Miran said the central bank may need to cut interest rates aggressively to sustain economic momentum, supporting market expectations for at least two rate reductions this year. Still, traders currently assign more than an 80% probability that the Fed will keep policy unchanged later this month. On the geopolitical front, investors continued to weigh the impact of US intervention in Venezuela and rising tensions between China and Japan, factors likely to maintain support for safe-haven metals.