Precious metals markets saw relative stability during today's trading, but this calm comes amid a whirlwind of record gains that have put gold on track for its strongest annual performance in over four and a half decades. While investors have engaged in profit-taking after the recent meteoric rise, the yellow metal continues to maintain its allure as a key safe haven in the global financial system.
Record numbers and unprecedented levels
Gold prices stabilized in spot trading at $4,345.75 per ounce by 4:04 GMT, after the metal reached an all-time high of $4,549.71 last Friday. Meanwhile, US gold futures for February delivery saw a slight decline of 0.5% to $4,365 per ounce, a typical pullback following such significant price increases.
Economic context: A historical comparison with 1979
Data indicates that gold rose by approximately 66% during 2025 , achieving its largest annual gain since 1979. This historical comparison is highly significant; in the late 1970s, gold prices surged due to hyperinflation and global geopolitical crises. Today, history is repeating itself, albeit through different mechanisms. This surge has been fueled by a series of interest rate cuts and strong expectations of further monetary easing by the Federal Reserve (the US central bank), which has reduced the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.
Driving factors and the influence of central banks
The rise was not a coincidence, but rather the result of a combination of several key factors, most notably:
- Geopolitical tensions: which prompted investors and countries to hedge with the yellow metal.
- Institutional demand: Central banks around the world have recorded record purchase rates to diversify their reserves away from traditional paper currencies.
- Exchange-traded funds: Holdings of gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have increased, reflecting the confidence of individual and institutional investors.
Exceptional performance from other metals: Silver shines
While silver fell today by (4.5%) to reach (73.06) dollars per ounce, the annual picture looks amazing, as it has risen by more than (150%) since the beginning of the year, heading towards recording its best annual performance ever, thus relatively outperforming even gold, reflecting huge industrial and investment demand.
As for the platinum group metals, platinum fell 12% to $1,932.55, and palladium dropped 7.1% to $1,496.75. Despite this daily decline, palladium is on track to end the year with gains of nearly 65%, its best performance in 15 years, indicating a recovery in demand in the automotive and clean technology sectors.
