Gold, silver stumble after their best year since the 1970s

Gold and silver fell on the last trading day of 2025, though both remained on track for the biggest annual gain in more than four decades as a banner year for precious metals drew to a close.

Spot gold hovered around $4 320 an ounce, while silver slid toward $71. The two have seen exceptional volatility in thin post-holiday trading, plunging on Monday before recovering on Tuesday and dropping again on Wednesday.

Read: Gold, platinum and silver smash records again [Dec 2025]

The big swings prompted exchange operator CME Group to raise margin requirements twice.

Both metals are on track for their best year since 1979, supported by strong demand for haven assets amid mounting geopolitical risks and interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. The so-called debasement trade – triggered by fears of inflation and swelling debt burdens in developed economies – has helped supercharge the scorching rally.

Read: Gold, or gold shares? [Feb 2025]

In gold, the bigger market by far, those factors spurred a rush by investors into bullion-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), while central banks extended a years-long buying spree.

Gold was up about 63% in 2025.

In September, it eclipsed an inflation-adjusted peak set 45 years ago – a time when US currency pressures, spiking inflation and an unfolding recession pushed prices to $850.

This time around, the record run saw prices smash through $4 000 in early October.

Read: Gold shares have run hard but are still cheap [Oct 2025]

“In my career, it’s unprecedented,” said John Reade, a market veteran and chief strategist at the World Gold Council. “Unprecedented by the number of new all-time highs, and unprecedented in the performance of gold exceeding the expectations of so many people by so much.”

Silver

Silver has notched up a gain of more than 140% during the year, driven by speculative buying but also by industrial demand. The metal is used extensively in electronics, solar panels and electric cars.

In October, it soared to a record as tariff concerns drove imports into the US, tightening the London market and triggering a historic squeeze.

The new peak was then passed the following month as US rate cuts and speculative fervour drove prices higher. The rally topped out above $80 earlier this week – in part reflecting elevated buying in China.

Yet the latest move swiftly reversed, with the market closing down 9% Monday then swinging the following two days. In response to the extreme volatility, CME Group again raised margins on precious-metal futures, meaning traders must put up more cash to keep their positions open.

Some speculators may be forced to shrink or exit their trades – weighing on prices.

“The key driver [on Wednesday was] the CME raising margins for the second time in just a few days,” said Ross Norman, chief executive officer of Metals Daily, a pricing and analysis website. The higher collateral requirements are “cooling the markets off”, he said.

Platinum

The enthusiasm for gold and silver extended into the wider precious metals complex in 2025, with platinum breaking out of a years-long holding pattern to hit a new high.

The metal is on course for a third annual deficit, following disruptions in major producer South Africa. Supply will likely remain tight until there’s clarity on whether the Trump administration will impose tariffs.

Read: Platinum soars to all-time high [Dec 2025]

Prices for silver, platinum and palladium all sagged Wednesday, though there’s little sign of enthusiasm waning.

The year’s “surprise was how safe-haven metals turned into momentum trades – silver in particular,” said Charu Chanana, chief market strategist at Saxo Markets in Singapore.

Listen/read: Sappi and Sibanye-Stillwater: What do they have in common? [Nov 2025]

Silver traded down 7.1% at $70.83 an ounce in New York on Wednesday. Gold slipped 0.5% to $4 317.41 an ounce, while the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was up little-changed.

© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Follow Moneyweb’s in-depth finance and business news on WhatsApp here.