Prices of gold, silver and platinum jump to record highs
Robin Paxton, Preeti Soni And Yvonne Yue Li
Gold, silver and platinum rose to record highs, continuing the historic year-end rally for precious metals, boosted by rising geopolitical tensions, US dollar weakness and weak market liquidity.
Spot gold rose as much as 1.6 percent on Friday to peak above $4540 ($6759) an ounce. Spot silver for immediate delivery rose for the fifth session, rising as much as 7.6 percent to surpass $77 ($114) per ounce.
Conflicts in Venezuela, where the US has blockaded oil tankers and increased pressure on the government of Nicolas Maduro, have increased the safe-haven appeal of the precious metal. Washington has also launched a military offensive against the Islamic State in Nigeria in cooperation with the African country’s government.
“Intensifying geopolitical tensions continued to support demand for safe-haven assets, including gold and silver,” said Daniel Takieddine, CEO of Sky Links Capital Group. According to Takieddine, weak market liquidity at the end of the year also increases price fluctuations.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, an important indicator of the strength of the US currency, fell 0.7 percent during the week, its biggest decline since June. A weak dollar generally supports gold and silver.
With gold gaining nearly 70 percent this year and silver more than 150 percent, both metals are on track for their best annual performance since 1979. The scorching rally was fueled by increased central bank purchases, an influx of exchange-traded funds and three consecutive rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. Low borrowing costs are taking a toll on precious metals, which don’t pay interest, and traders are betting on further interest rate cuts in 2026.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive moves to reregulate global trade and threats to the independence of the Federal Reserve accelerated the rally earlier this year. Investor demand is also being supported by the so-called depreciation trade, as concerns about rising debt burdens have led to a pullback in government bonds and the currencies in which they are issued.
Gold’s resilience was demonstrated by its rapid recovery after retreating from its previous peak of $4,381 in October, when the rally was seen as overheated. Heavy ETF buying has been a major driver of the recent rally; Holds in the SPDR Gold Trust, State Street’s largest precious metals ETF, have risen by more than a fifth this year.
Silver’s rally has been even more spectacular than gold’s. Its recent rise has been fueled by speculative inflows and ongoing supply disruptions in major trading hubs following a historic short contraction in October.
London vaults have seen huge inflows since the October squeeze; But much of the world’s ready silver remains in New York as traders await the outcome of a U.S. Commerce Department investigation into whether imports of critical minerals pose a national security risk. The review could pave the way for tariffs or other trade restrictions on the metal.
“You have a lot of trades or positions on paper: now you have to cover them with physical volume – and there is not much supply to meet this demand,” said Manav Modi, commodity analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. “You need to reinforce the paper silver with real silver,” he said.
Partly for the same reason, platinum has been on the decline in recent weeks; It’s up more than 40 percent this month alone. The metal traded above $2,400 an ounce for the first time since Bloomberg began compiling data in 1987.
In addition to strong physical demand, global supplies of the metal used in the automotive and jewelery industries are on track for a third annual deficit this year, largely due to disruptions in major producer South Africa.
Bloomberg
The Business Briefing newsletter delivers big stories, exclusive news and expert insights. Sign up to receive it every weekday morning.
