(Bloomberg) — Gold and silver jumped to all-time highs, with escalating geopolitical tensions and US dollar weakness helping to extend a historic rally for precious metals.
Spot gold rose as much as 1.2% to a record above $4,530 an ounce. Frictions in Venezuela, where the US has blockaded oil tankers and ramped up pressure on the government of Nicolás Maduro, have added to the precious metal’s haven appeal. In Africa, the US has launched a “powerful and deadly strike” against a terrorist group in Nigeria, according to a social-media post by President Donald Trump.
Spot silver for immediate delivery advanced for a fifth straight session, climbing as much as 4.5% to cross $75 an ounce for the first time. The white metal’s recent advance has been buoyed by speculative inflows and lingering supply dislocations across major trading hubs following a historic short squeeze in October.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the US currency’s strength, was down 0.8% for the week, its biggest drop since June. A weaker dollar is generally supportive of gold and silver prices.
Gold has gained around 70% this year and silver more than 150%, with both metals on track for their best annual performances since 1979. The scorching rally has been underpinned by elevated central-bank purchases, inflows to exchange-traded funds and three successive interest-rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. Lower borrowing costs are a tailwind for precious metals, which don’t pay interest, and traders are betting on more rate cuts in 2026.
Heavy ETF buying has been a major driver of the latest surge. Total holdings in gold-backed ETFs have risen every month this year except May, according to World Gold Council data, while holdings in State Street Corp.’s SPDR Gold Trust — the biggest precious-metals ETF — have risen by more than a fifth this year.
Silver’s rally has been even more spectacular than gold’s. London’s vaults have seen significant inflows since the squeeze in October, but much of the world’s available silver remains in New York as traders await the outcome of a US Commerce Department probe on whether critical minerals imports threaten national security. This could lead to tariffs or trade restrictions on the metal.
Gold rose 0.8% to $4,516.70 as of 9:25 a.m. in Singapore. Silver climbed 4.3% to $74.94. Platinum advanced 4.8%, approaching a high of $2,381.53 hit on Wednesday, which was the highest since Bloomberg began compiling data on the metal in 1987. Palladium was up 4%.
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