Precious metals kick-started the New
Year on a strong note on Friday, resuming their rally after
unprecedented gains in 2025, as geopolitical tensions and hopes
of lower interest rates this year kept safe-haven demand intact.
Spot gold climbed 1.3 per cent to $4,372.02 per ounce as of
0357 GMT, after hitting a record high of $4,549.71 on December
26. It fell to a two-week low on Wednesday.
US gold futures for February delivery gained 1 per cent to
$4,386.40/oz.
“(Precious metals) seem to be making amends for the year-end
selling which afflicted them earlier in the week. Year-end
position-squaring pressures have eased and gold is kicking off
2026 with gains, now that fundamentals are again in focus,” said
Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
Bullion staged a stellar rally in 2025, ending the year with
annual gains of 64 per cent, its largest since 1979.
Interest rate cuts, bets of further easing by the US
Federal Reserve, geopolitical conflicts, robust demand from
central banks and rising holdings in exchange-traded funds had
fuelled gold’s rally last year.
Americans filed the fewest new jobless claims in a month
last week, and while the numbers have eased from recent highs, a
weak labour market seems to be persisting under US President
Donald Trump’s second term in office.
Waterer added that jobless claims had little effect on
expectations of multiple rate cuts this year.
“Precious metals are commencing 2026 in much the same
fashion as they performed in 2025 – which is to say with forward
momentum.”
Investors currently expect at least two rate cuts by the Fed
this year.
Non-yielding assets tend to do well in low-interest-rate
environments.
Spot silver added 2.8 per cent to $73.30 per ounce, after
hitting an all-time high of $83.62 on Monday. Silver ended the
year surging 147 per cent, far outpacing gold, in what was its best year
ever on record.
The metal broke through multiple important milestones for
the first time, propelled by its designation as a critical US
mineral, supply constraints and low inventories amid rising
industrial and investment demand.
Spot platinum was up 3.1 per cent at $2,116.40 per ounce,
after rising to an all-time high of $2,478.50 on Monday, and it
too staged its largest gain in a year ever, having climbed 127 per cent.
Palladium rose 2.2 per cent to $1,641.03 per ounce, closing
the previous year up 76 per cent, its best in 15 years.
Published on January 2, 2026
