<figure id="attachment_3243581" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3243581" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3243581" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2db644e4-gold-silver-bars.jpg" alt="Gold silver bars" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3243581" class="wp-caption-text">Spot silver advanced for a fifth straight session, climbing as much as 2.7% to a record above US$73.78 an ounce. (Unsplash pic)</figcaption></figure>
HONG KONG: Silver rose to a record and gold traded near an all-time high, with escalating geopolitical tensions helping to extend a historic rally for precious metals.
Spot silver advanced for a fifth straight session, climbing as much as 2.7% to a record above US$73.78 an ounce.
The white metal’s recent advance has been buoyed by speculative inflows and lingering supply dislocations across major trading hubs following a historic short squeeze in October.
Gold for immediate delivery edged toward its record above US$4,525 an ounce that was hit on Wednesday.
Frictions in Venezuela, where the US has blockaded oil tankers and ramped up pressure on the government of Nicolas Maduro, have added to the precious metal’s haven appeal.
In Africa, the US has launched a “powerful and deadly strike” against a terrorist group in Nigeria, according to a social-media post by President Donald Trump.
Gold has gained around 70% this year and silver more than 150%, with both metals on track for their best annual performances since 1979.
The scorching rally has been underpinned by elevated central-bank purchases, inflows to exchange-traded funds and three successive interest-rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.
Lower borrowing costs are a tailwind for precious metals, which don’t pay interest, and traders are betting on more rate cuts in 2026.
Heavy ETF buying has been a major driver of the latest surge. Total holdings in gold-backed ETFs have risen every month this year except May, according to World Gold Council data, while holdings in State Street Corp’s SPDR Gold Trust &#8211; the biggest precious-metals ETF &#8211; have risen by more than a fifth this year.
Silver’s rally has been even more spectacular than gold’s. London’s vaults have seen significant inflows since the squeeze in October, but much of the world’s available silver remains in New York as traders await the outcome of a US commerce department probe on whether critical minerals imports threaten national security. This could lead to tariffs or trade restrictions on the metal.
Silver rose 2.5% to US$73.68 an ounce as of 8.18am in Singapore. Gold advanced 0.5% to US$4,502.75. Platinum climbed 3.1% and palladium was up 2.3%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat.

MatchPoint Times

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