rose to records as fears about credit quality in the US economy and heightened frictions between Washington and Beijing strengthened demand for havens.
Bullion rose as much as 1.2 per cent to $4,379.93 an ounce before paring some gains — putting it on track for its biggest weekly advance since 2020 and extending a breakneck rally that began in August.
The surge, also supported by wagers the Federal Reserve could deploy an outsized rate cut this year, has spilled over into other precious metals.
Silver smashed through a prior all-time high this week, eclipsing the peak set in 1980 on a now-defunct contract overseen by the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices for the white metal edged higher to hit a fresh high at $54.3775 an ounce on Friday, before pulling back. Palladium and platinum also fell, but remained on track for hefty weekly advances.
Broader markets were jolted on Thursday as two US regional lenders disclosed problems with loans involving allegations of fraud, adding to concern that more cracks are emerging in borrowers’ creditworthiness.
The reports roiled markets less than a week after the resurgence of the US-China trade war, adding to uneasiness caused by the dearth of economic data during a government shutdown in Washington. The combination of jitters boosted demand for havens.
Traders are also piling into wagers on at least one jumbo US rate cut by year-end, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled this week the central bank is on track to deliver another quarter-point reduction this month. That would benefit precious metals, which don’t pay interest.
China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Thursday blamed the recent escalation in tensions on the US and warned against decoupling. That followed inflammatory comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who on Wednesday lashed out at a top Chinese trade official.
Gold has surged about 65 per cent this year, underpinned by central-bank buying, inflows to exchange-traded funds and soaring demand for haven assets in the face of geopolitical and trade tensions, rising government spending and debt, and threats to the Fed’s independence from the Trump administration.
Silver, meanwhile, has run even harder — surging almost 87 per cent in 2025 — with gains underpinned by some of the macro factors driving gold. The market’s also been gripped by a historic squeeze in London, where a lack of liquidity has sparked a worldwide hunt for the metal as benchmark prices soared above futures in New York.
Over the past week, more than 15 million ounces of silver have been withdrawn from warehouses linked to the Comex futures exchange in New York. Much of that is likely headed to London, where it should help ease tightness. The price gap between the two trading hubs remains unusually wide at $1.10 an ounce, though that’s narrower than a spread of as much as $3 last week. Silver fell 0.5 per cent on Friday at 11:02 a.m. in Singapore, but remains up more than 7 per cent for the week.
Spot gold was up 0.4 per cent to $4,341.07 an ounce, on track for a weekly gain of more than 8 per cent. Platinum was up 6.8 per cent for the week, while palladium has jumped 15 per cent. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
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