Silver and Gold Set New Highs After Christmas

 

Silver and Gold Set New Highs After Christmas

(Bullion News Network) – Precious metal prices soared to end the shortened holiday trading week. The spot price of gold gained nearly $49 per troy ounce, setting a new all-time high of $4,537/ozt. Silver outperformed gold, adding more than $7 per ounce to its spot price to set a new highest price ever of $79.45 per troy ounce. The price action strongly favored silver, driving the gold-silver ratio to 57.10:1, its lowest rate since 2013. Platinum-group metals also gained to end the trading week, with platinum adding over $161/ozt and platinum lagging slightly behind with more than $87 in gains per ounce. Platinum is set to end the week with a lead of nearly $500 per troy ounce over palladium.

Precious metals moved in the same direction as Wall Street on Friday. The stock market ended higher to close the week, with the S&P 500 nearing an all-time high. Consumer confidence also came in weaker than expected on Wednesday, clocking in well below the median forecast of 92.9 at 89.1. The larger U.S. economy received a positive report earlier this week, with the Q3 GDP clocking in at 4.3% to smash the median forecast of just 3.2%. Investors around the country are hoping for a “Santa Claus” rally, a boost to stock prices that coincides with heightened consumer spending at the end of a year.

Market confidence that the Federal Reserve will vote to cut rates at its first 2026 meeting also increased marginally on Friday. Friday afternoon, CME FedWatch projected a probability of 19.9% that the FOMC will pull the lever on a fourth consecutive rate cut at its January meeting. This projection is up from 15.5%, which was CME FedWatch’s projection on Dec. 24. Rate cut speculation has played an outsized role in the historic price performances in the gold and silver markets this year, especially after the Fed cut rates three consecutive times at its final meetings of the year. Heading into January, traders should anticipate rate cut projections to continue to impact demand for safe haven assets like gold and silver.

Precious metals may have also benefited from more geopolitical uncertainty over the holidays. The Trump administration announced a series of air strikes in Nigeria on Christmas Day. The strikes, made in response to accusations that the Nigerian government is oppressing Christians in the region, targeted ISIS encampments in the Northwest part of Nigeria. Nigerian officials cooperated with the United States on the air strikes, allowing the government to avoid potentially embarrassing unilateral military action by the U.S. Still, safe haven assets like gold and silver tend to thrive in environments characterized by geopolitical uncertainty and conflict, so traders will likely be paying careful attention to U.S. action in the region moving forward.

2025 has been a historic year for precious metals. While gold has consistently logged all-time highs throughout the year, silver’s price performance has been even more impressive. Gold has gained approximately 72.9% since the beginning of 2025, while silver has appreciated by more than 174.7% since Jan. 1. The gold-silver ratio has fluctuated significantly throughout 2025, with the ratio logging a year-to-date high of 104.78 and a low of approximately 57:1. 

On Wall Street, this week could be a major signal for market sentiment heading into 2026. Last year, markets executed a reversed “Santa Claus” rally, with prices retreating every day in the period between Christmas and New Year’s. 2024 was the first time that the reverse “Santa Claus” rally has been observed since the index began. The final week of 2025 could set the tone for the beginning of the new year, and precious metal traders will likely be watching closely to see how the year ends on Wall Street.

Silver’s momentum continued throughout Friday afternoon, with the precious metal adding nearly $8 total to its spot price per ounce. Silver will begin the final trading week of 2025 with an all-time high spot price of $79.45. Gold also continued to add to its spot price through until markets closed, closing nearly $50 higher at $4,537 per troy ounce. Platinum and palladium extended their gains as well, with platinum closing above $2,460/ozt and palladium ending the trading week at a recent high of more than $1,964/ozt, a price differential of nearly $500 per troy ounce.