India (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Gold tops $4,500 as silver and platinum hit record highs, driven by investor demand and expectations of further US rate cuts in 2026.
As reported by Pablo Sinha of Reuters, gold reached $4,500 an ounce for the first time on Wednesday, while silver and platinum also hit record highs amid safe-haven demand and expectations of US monetary easing next year.
How are investor demand and market trends boosting gold, silver, and platinum?
Spot gold gained 0.2% to $4,494.49 per ounce at 1220 GMT, after earlier hitting a record $4,525.19, while US February gold futures reached 0.4% to $4,523.10.
Silver climbed to a record $72.70 and traded 1.3% higher at $72.32 per ounce, while platinum reached $2,377.50 before easing to trade 1.6% higher at $2,312.70.
Palladium declined 1.5% to $1,830.40 per ounce, following a three-year peak earlier in the session.
US President Donald Trump said he wants the next Federal Reserve chairman to reduce interest rates if markets remain strong, as non-yielding assets like gold tend to perform well in a low-rate environment, with traders currently pricing in two rate cuts next year.
Silver’s price has surged over 150% year-to-date, surpassing gold due to strong investment demand, its inclusion on the US critical minerals list, and rising industrial use.
Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com, said,
The lack of any bearish factors and strong momentum, all backed by solid fundamentals, which include continued central bank buying, a falling U.S. dollar and some level of haven demand,”
is assisting gold.
He added,
“Other base metals like copper have been climbing, which is providing support for the whole commodities complex in terms of metals.”
Analysts at Societe Generale stated,
“The risk of a major drop in the gold price would seem largely linked to a slowing of outright gold buying, such as by emerging market central banks.”
They added,
“Barring such an event, investor positions suggest that the extraordinary surge in gold prices is likely to continue, supporting our Commodities strategists’ forecast ($5,000/oz by end-2026).”
What did experts say about the surge in central banks buying gold?
According to Daan Struyven, co-head of global commodities research at Goldman Sachs,
“In 2022 the reserves of the Russian Central Bank got frozen in the context of the invasion of Ukraine, and reserve managers of global central banks around the world realised, ‘Maybe my reserves aren’t safe either, what if I buy gold and hold it in my own vaults?’”
He added,
“And so we have seen this big structural fivefold increase in demand for gold from central banks.”
Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Liberum, said central banks are seeking assets outside the dollar system, boosting demand for gold.
He stated,
“I would look at China, but also Russia, their central bank is a big buyer of gold, also Turkey. There are a number of countries who fear weaponisation of the dollar system and potentially the Euro system.”
Mr French added,
“If they are not aligning themselves with the US or the Western view, on diplomatic grounds, on military grounds… having an asset in their central bank that is not controlled by their military or political foes is quite an attractive feature.”
Gold’s price has jumped over 70% in 2025, marking its strongest annual gain since 1979, driven by investor demand for safe-haven assets and expectations of further US Federal Reserve monetary easing.
