The precious metal fever pushes gold, silver, platinum prices up sharply

Spot gold prices were steady at $4,481.9/ounce at 8:03 a.m. GMT, after hitting a historic peak of $4,525.19/ounce in the previous session. February gold futures in the US increased 0.1%, to $4,509.2/ounce.

Silver prices rose 0.7% to $71.95 an ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $72.70 an ounce. Meanwhile, platinum rose sharply by 2.1% to $2,323.95/ounce, after peaking at $2,377.5/ounce.

Palladium also rose 3% to $1,919,17 an ounce, its highest level in three years.

According to Mr. Ilya Spivak - Head of Global Macro at Tastylive, the precious metal is increasingly speculative, associated with the view that in the context of de- globilization, investors need an asset that plays a neutral intermediary role, not subject to sovereignty risks, especially when tensions between the US and China continue.

Mr. Spivak believes that thin liquidity at the end of the year has affected the recent price increase, but the general trend is likely to continue. Accordingly, gold prices may move towards the 5,000 USD/ounce mark in the next 612 months, while silver may approach the 80 USD/ounce level when the market reacts to important psychological thresholds.

Since the beginning of the year, gold prices have increased by more than 70% - the strongest increase in a year since 1979 - thanks to safe-haven demand, expectations of US interest rate cuts, strong central bank purchases, de-dollarization trends and cash flow into ETFs. The market is currently pricing in the possibility of two US interest rate cuts next year.

Meanwhile, silver prices increased by more than 150% over the same period, far exceeding the increase of gold thanks to strong investment demand, silver being included in the list of important US minerals and a wave of buying along the way.

Mr. Tim Waterer - chief market analyst at KCM Trade - commented that gold and silver are " emphasizing the foot of the gasoline this week" when they have continuously set new peaks, reflecting their appeal as valuable storage channels in the context of expectations of falling US interest rates and the global debt burden remaining high.

platinum and palladium mainly used in automobile catalysts to reduce emissions have also increased sharply this year due to tight mining supply, uncertainty related to tariffs and investment flows shifting from gold. To date, platinum has increased by about 160%, while palladium has increased by more than 100%.

According to Mr. Spivak, the developments of platinum and palladium are mostly "catching up with the increase", but due to small market size and thin liquidity, the prices of these two metals are still likely to fluctuate strongly when liquidity returns, although they are still basically following the trend of gold.