Heading into 2026 with near-record gains at new all-time high prices, investors in precious metals are both bullish and committed to the asset class according to new research from BullionVault.
Used by more than 120,000 investors worldwide and now caring for £6.5 billion of securely stored gold, silver, platinum and palladium, BullionVault has surveyed its customers twice every year since 2014.
The latest poll, taken by more than 1,500 investors, asked about their outlook and intentions for 2026. The vast majority expect gold and silver prices to extend this year’s steep gains. They also expect to continue riding the bull market too, maintaining or growing their own holdings.
“Investors in precious metals retain strong conviction and commitment to the asset class, but they’re cooling their expectations after this year’s breakneck gains in gold, silver, platinum and palladium,” says BullionVault director of research Adrian Ash.
“Geopolitics is seen as the No.1 driver of precious metals prices once again. But while Donald Trump’s approach to economics and diplomacy is likely to unnerve investors again in 2026, the shock which has sent bullion prices sharply higher this year is likely to ease off, tempering the pace of gain.”
Gold $5,136
With gold setting new all-time highs in all currencies this year, it surged by 65.1% in US Dollar terms, the fastest gain since gold’s record jump of 133.4% in 1979. Investors who own precious metals now predict a further 18.4% gain in 2026 according to the average response to BullionVault’s survey. That would take ‘safe haven’ gold to $5,136 per Troy ounce, equal to £3,843 at current exchange rates, giving UK investors a gain of £600 per ounce.
“Investors expect gold’s record-breaking run to continue in 2026, albeit at a slower pace than this year’s near-record jump,” says Ash. “The underlying uptrend is certainly intact for now, because while gold has given back significant ground at times in recent months, the price has now risen back to October’s fresh all-time highs in terms of all major world currencies.”
Silver $80
Finding half its end-use demand in productive applications from solar energy to chemicals, medicine to data centres, silver has shot 123.9% higher in 2025, finally breaking its 1980 and 2011 peaks at $50 per Troy ounce with its strongest annual gain since 1979’s leap of 434.8%.
BullionVault’s respondents on average expect silver to rise a further 21.3% in 2026 compared to its current price around $66 per ounce, reaching $80.02 next Christmas (£49.35 at current exchange rates).
“After doubling in price in 2025, silver looks ready to remain the metal of the moment in 2026 too,” says Ash. “The fact that investors in precious metals still see the greatest upside potential in silver underlines the shift in sentiment from viewing it as gold’s ‘little brother’ to an indispensable industrial metal with strong appeal as a hard monetary asset.”
Platinum and Palladium
Investors are more cautious for 2026 about the platinum group metals, which find their largest single source of demand from autocatalysts to reduce harmful emissions from fossil-fuel engines. But projecting on average that platinum will end 2026 at $1955 and palladium at $1655 per Troy ounce, investors answering BullionVault’s survey have already seen prices spike this week towards those levels, cutting the forecast gain to just 1.0% in platinum and 2.1% in palladium from Wednesday’s sudden 17-year and 3-year highs respectively.
Geopolitics: Key driver set to wane?
Investors believe Geopolitics will have the greatest impact on gold prices and the other precious metals in 2026, named as the No.1 driver by more than 1-in-4 respondents (27.2%). But that figure is down from BullionVault’s New Year and summer 2025 surveys (31.4% and 32.9% respectively), suggesting that the powerful influence of trade tensions, armed conflict and fractured alliances may be waning.
Similarly, the size of Government debt & deficits remains the 2nd most commonly named driver of precious metals prices for the year ahead, but it has also declined from BullionVault’s New Year and summer 2025 polls (down to 19.8% from 23.6% and 20.8% respectively). Monetary policy, on the other hand, is regaining significance, with the outlook for interest rates and quantitative easing-or-tightening seen as the greatest influence on precious metal prices for 19.4% of respondents (July: 12.7%, last December 16.8%).
Says Ash: “Acute fear of geopolitical escalation is giving way to rational, perhaps more long-term concerns about monetary stability and the size of government debt. When investors aren’t buying out of panic but because of structural monetary deficits, this could form a solid if less dramatic foundation for the gold price to rise above $5,000 next year.”
See the live gold price in UK Pounds per ounce here and toggle the currency to see US Dollar or Euro prices.