Overview

• December futures briefly traded above $4,000 per ounce, with spot hovering near $3,960–$3,990 after fresh intraday highs.
• Gold has climbed roughly 50%–53% year to date, pacing its strongest annual performance since 1979.
• A weaker dollar, the U.S. government shutdown’s data blackout, and political strains in France and Japan reinforced safe-haven flows.
• Official-sector buying and ETF inflows remain heavy, with the PBOC adding gold for an 11th straight month and H1 central-bank purchases above 800 tonnes.
• Silver traded around $48.5 per ounce, the highest since 2011, with a 2025 deficit projected, while some miners lagged as banks raised longer-term gold targets, including Goldman’s $4,900 call for December 2026.