As the final trading week of the year gets underway, the rally in precious metals is showing little sign of fading, even after bouts of profit-taking. Silver, platinum and palladium all hit fresh all-time highs before easing back, underscoring the intensity of the move.
Asian stock markets are mixed, while the US dollar is hovering near a three-month low as investors continue to price in further interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve next year.
Gold is down 1.3% this morning at $4,472 an ounce, but remains on course for its strongest annual performance since 1979, with gains of more than 70% in 2025.
Silver briefly surged above $80 an ounce for the first time on Monday before retreating around 3.3% to roughly $76 amid profit-taking. Even after the pullback, the scale of the rally is striking: silver has climbed from about $56 at the start of December and from just $29 an ounce at the beginning of the year.
The sharp rise has prompted warnings from Elon Musk that manufacturers could face serious cost pressures.
Copper has also enjoyed a powerful year, rising by more than a third and trading close to the record $13,000-a-tonne level, as demand for the red metal continues to strengthen.
