- Gold makes strongest annual gain since 1979
- Silver to notch record yearly rise
- Platinum up more than 110% in 2025, biggest gain on record
- Palladium posts best annual performance in 15 years
Dec 31 (Reuters) - Precious metals rounded out the year with blockbuster annual gains on Wednesday, with silver and platinum prices more than doubling and gold's run of record highs leading to its strongest performance in more than four decades.
On the day, prices slipped during a holiday-subdued session. Spot gold fell 0.9% to $4,307.56 per ounce by 1219 GMT, a more than two-week low. U.S. gold futures for February delivery lost 1.5% to $4,318.90/oz.
Gold prices have rocketed about 65% this year, their steepest annual rise since 1979, with the rally reflecting the impact of U.S. interest rate cuts and expectations of further monetary easing, geopolitical strains, heavy central bank buying, and robust ETF inflows.
But a round of profit-taking this week after the CME raised margins again on precious metal futures has knocked prices off their peaks.
"Gold is seeing heightened price volatility with crosscurrents from profit-taking, and some new positions being put on," said independent analyst Ross Norman.
"The raising of margins on CME I think has put a very firm handbrake on what looked to be runaway prices with the white metals."
Gold prices have rocketed about 65% this year, their steepest annual rise since 1979, with the rally reflecting the impact of U.S. interest rate cuts and expectations of further monetary easing, geopolitical strains, heavy central bank buying, and robust ETF inflows.
But a round of profit-taking this week after the CME raised margins again on precious metal futures has knocked prices off their peaks.
"Gold is seeing heightened price volatility with crosscurrents from profit-taking, and some new positions being put on," said independent analyst Ross Norman.
"The raising of margins on CME I think has put a very firm handbrake on what looked to be runaway prices with the white metals."
"In 2026, we will see this issue becoming manifest, not only through higher prices as nations outbid each other to build strategic stocks, but through other mechanisms to attract the necessary commodities."
Reporting by Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru. Editing by Jane Merriman, Kirsten n Donovan
Source: Reuters