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Silver belts reach record highs as investors rush for safety

Investors flocked to gold as geopolitical uncertainty and expectations of U.S. rate cuts pushed it past $4,000 per ounce for the first.

Silver, too, reached a new record on Wednesday as investors continued to flock to the metal.

By 12:17 PM ET (1617 GMT), spot gold had risen 1.8% to $4,053.13 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery gained 1.8%, to $4 075.00. Silver rose 3.4% to reach $49.42 an ounce after reaching its highest level of $49.57.

Matthew Piggott is director of metals focus and the director for gold and silver. He said that "gold's strength reflects a macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop which is extremely positive and a concern over other safe havens."

Gold, which is traditionally seen as an asset to store value in times of uncertainty, has gained 52% this year, compared with 27% gain in 2024. Gold is the top performing asset in 2025. It outperforms the global equity markets, bitcoin and the U.S. Dollar and crude oil.

Silver has risen by more than 66% this year. This is due to the same factors that have driven gold's rise, as well as the tightness of the spot market.

The silver market is tightening, with increasing lease rates as Comex stocks reach record highs, and India's strong seasonal demand. "The recent rally was supported by hefty ETP flows," said Suki cooper, Global Head of Commodities Research, Standard Chartered Bank.

Metals have been boosted by a number of factors including the expectation of U.S. rate cuts, political and economic unrest, central bank purchases, large inflows to ETFs, and a weaker dollar.

We do not see any catalysts for gold to meaningfully reverse at this time. Piggott said that we should expect gold to keep pushing up through the year in order to challenge $5,000/oz. The U.S. shutdown of the government entered its eighth day Wednesday, delaying key economic data releases and forcing investors relying on non-government resources to assess the timing of and scope of Fed rates cuts.

The markets are pricing in a rate cut of 25 basis points at the Fed meeting in November. The Middle East conflict, the war in Ukraine and political turmoil in France, Japan and other countries have all contributed to the demand for gold. According to World Gold Council data, global inflows of gold ETFs have reached $64 billion for the year. September saw a record amount of $17.3 billion.

Analysts said that "fear of losing out" also fuels the rally.

Technically, the Relative Strength Index of gold is 88. This indicates that it has been overbought.

Silver has risen 71% this year due to the same factors that have driven gold's rise, as well as the tightness of the spot market.

HSBC raised its forecasts on silver prices for 2025 and 2026, respectively, to an average of $38.56 and $44.50 per ounce. The bank cited expectations of high gold prices, renewed demand from investors and expected volatile trading.

Palladium, which has reached its highest price since June 2023, climbed 7.3%, to $1435.18, a gain of 2.5%.

(source: Reuters)