Overview
- Spot silver breached $77 for the first time, touching about $77.40 intraday, while gold set a new high up to roughly $4,561 and platinum hit a record near $2,454 as palladium also jumped to multi‑year highs.
- Traders cited a softer dollar and rising geopolitical risks, including U.S. pressure on Venezuelan oil shipments and airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Nigeria, as catalysts for renewed buying.
- Markets are pricing at least two U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026, reducing the opportunity cost of holding non‑yielding metals and reinforcing demand.
- Heavy central‑bank purchases and sustained inflows into gold‑backed ETFs, including a more than 20% rise in SPDR Gold Trust holdings this year, continued to underpin the rally.
- Silver’s outperformance reflects structural supply deficits, lingering dislocations after October’s short squeeze, and its U.S. critical‑mineral status, with thin year‑end liquidity heightening volatility risks.