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Gold has surged past the $4,500-an-ounce mark for the first time ever on the final trading day before Christmas, underscoring the strength of the precious metals rally as the year draws to a close.
As investors look for signs of a Santa Rally, bullion climbed as high as $4,525 an ounce. Gold has risen in 11 of the past 12 sessions, taking its gains for 2025 to more than 70% — its strongest annual performance since 1979.
The buying spree has spread across the metals complex. Silver has jumped to a fresh record of $72.16 an ounce, while platinum has also hit an all-time high at $2,333.80 an ounce, highlighting what many describe as a broad-based rush into hard assets.
Investors are seeking protection against rising geopolitical and trade risks, while also positioning for further US interest rate cuts in 2026, which would likely weaken the dollar and boost the appeal of non-yielding assets.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, says:
We can say it: it’s been a golden year. Gold has renewed record highs more than 50 times this year and rose more than 70%, while silver’s gains have been even more impressive. The grey metal is up around 150% since January, driven by the so-called debasement trade — the idea that fiat currencies lose purchasing power over time due to heavy debt, persistent deficits, loose monetary policy and financial repression (rates below inflation). Add rising demand for silver and copper to limited supply, and the performance of these metals becomes easier to explain.
The reasonable answer is that the forces pushing metal prices higher remain firmly in place: heavy government debt into 2026 — check; persistent and widening deficits in developed markets — check; loose monetary policy and low real yields — check; geopolitical uncertainty — check; tight supply and rising demand — check. In theory, the medium- to long-term outlook remains positive.
