Gold and platinum also hit fresh all-time highs.
Silver surged past $75 an ounce for the first time in the overnight session leading into Dec. 26, extending a powerful rally that has made it the strongest-performing precious metal this year, while gold and platinum also climbed to record highs, as investors bet on U.S. interest rate cuts and grappled with tight supply and geopolitical uncertainty.
Spot silver rose by as much as 2.4 percent to a record $75.62 and was at about $75.30 at 10:30 a.m. ET on Dec. 26. The metal is up more than 150 percent so far this year, far outpacing gold’s gain of more than 70 percent.
“Investor appetite remains strong, as silver-backed ETFs continue to attract inflows,” ING analysts said in a recent note, describing the 2026 outlook as “constructive,” supported by solid industrial demand from solar panel installations and battery technologies, combined with sustained investment flows.
Gold rose by 0.6 percent to $4,505.30 an ounce after touching an all-time high of $4,530.60 earlier in Friday’s session. U.S. gold futures for February delivery gained 0.7 percent to $4,534.
The yellow metal is on track for its strongest annual gain since 1979, supported by expectations of monetary policy easing, steady central bank buying, exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows, and broader de-dollarization trends.
“We believe that gold’s main drivers, including central bank buying, Fed rate cuts, a weaker dollar, concerns about the Fed’s independence, and ETF buying, are all still in place, while the global macro environment remains broadly supportive for gold,” ING analysts said in a recent analysis.
“We see gold prices hitting more record highs in 2026.”
Spot platinum jumped 5.3 percent to $2,338.20 after hitting a record $2,448.25 on Dec. 26, while palladium climbed 7.5 percent to $1,809.93, building on a three-year high from the previous session.
Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS, said that all precious metals are benefiting from expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue its easing cycle.
“Prospect of lower U.S. interest rates is still supporting demand for gold and silver, lifting both metals to new record highs,” Staunovo said. “Low liquidity is amplifying the volatility across all precious metals.”
By Tom Ozimek
