Strong precious metals create big waves: From historic records to tense corrections

2025 Ends with Earth-Shattering Price Jumps

The precious metals market has just experienced a period of extremely impressive developments. In the final days of the year, almost all strong metals set new records or reached their highest levels in many years. Notably, gold broke the $4,550 per troy ounce threshold on December 26, marking an unprecedented historic milestone.

But that was just the beginning of the story. The volatility did not last long—gold and other precious metals were sharply pulled down just a few days later, creating very aggressive price waves.

Silver and Palladium: The Brightest Stars

If gold made an impression, silver’s record is even more remarkable. This metal plunged to $84 per troy ounce in the early morning of December 29—an all-time high never seen before. Platinum also performed strongly, rising to $2,490 per troy ounce, while palladium reached $2,000 per troy ounce, the highest in three years.

These price jumps were not accidental. According to Carsten Fritsch, a commodities analyst at Commerzbank, reduced market liquidity during the holiday season amplified the volatility. Specifically for silver, concerns over limited supply, declining Chinese reserves, and new export restrictions expected to start in early 2026 added further pressure on prices.

Intense Correction and Subsequent Consequences

But as the saying goes, what goes up must come down. Silver prices dropped more than $10 in a single day—the largest percentage decline in over five years. To replicate this effect, CME was forced to raise margin requirements for silver futures contracts, leading to margin calls and the risk of forced sell-offs.

However, it is noteworthy that the entire year’s growth was still very impressive: gold increased by 64.6%, silver by 148%—both the highest annual gains since 1979. Platinum surged 127% (a record since trading began in 1987), and palladium rose 77.5% (the strongest performance in 15 years).

2026: Precious Metals Continue Their Upward Journey

As the new year begins, precious metals quickly recover and approach the peaks set at the end of 2025. Gold increased by 3% to $4,450 per troy ounce, silver rose over 5% to $76.6 per troy ounce, and both continue their upward trend.

The driving factors remain intact: recent US military actions in Venezuela continue to spark safe-haven demand. The US ISM manufacturing index fell to its lowest in 14 months in December, putting pressure on the US dollar and raising expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to cut interest rates. All these factors support non-yielding assets like gold, silver, and other strong metals in the current environment.