Precious metals kick off the New Year higher after a record-breaking 2025

Fri Jan 02 2026

Precious metals started the New Year higher on Friday, as gold climbed a little from a two-week low hit in the previous session, while the others also ⁠pared some losses accumulated in the past week, even as the metals notched unprecedented gains in 2025.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold rose 0.8% to $4,346.69 per ounce as of 0019 GMT, after hitting a record high of $4,549.71 on December 26. It fell to a two-week low on Wednesday.

* U.S. gold futures for February delivery gained 0.5% to $4,360.60/oz.

* Bullion staged a stellar rally in 2025, ending the year with annual gains of 64%, its largest since 1979.

* Interest rate cuts and bets of further easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve, geopolitical conflicts, robust demand from central banks and rising holdings in exchange-traded funds had fueled gold's rally last year.

* As per the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's last two-day session in December, the Fed agreed to cut interest rates only after a deeply nuanced debate.

* Investors currently expect at least two rate cuts by the Fed this year.

* Non-yielding assets tend to do well in low-interest-rate environments.

* Spot silver added 2.1% to $72.75 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $83.62 on Monday. Silver ended the year surging 147%, far outpacing gold, in what was its best year ever on-record.

* The metal broke through multiple important milestones for the first time, propelled by its designation as a critical U.S. mineral, supply constraints and low inventories amid rising industrial and investment demand.

* Spot platinum was up 0.2% at $2,057.74 per ounce, after rising to an ⁠all-time high of $2,478.50 on ⁠Monday, and it too staged its largest gain in a year ever, having climbed 127%.

* Palladium rose 2.4% to $1,642.90 per ounce, closing the previous year up 76%, its best in 15 years.

Source: http://in.reuters.com