Gold prices increased during Friday’s Asian session following a 65% surge across 2025.
Spot gold was up 1.1% to US$4,374.84 per ounce by 3:15 pm AEDT. Last year, gold prices saw their largest annual gains since 1979, and reached $4,500 for the first time.
Silver prices rose 3.1% to $73.48, after posting their largest-single day decline in almost five years on Monday (Tuesday AEDT). Silver prices rose by around 145% across 2025.
Gold and silver prices were buoyed in 2025 by central banks’ gold purchases, as well as financial and geopolitical turmoil sending buyers towards safe-haven assets.
Markets are expecting the Federal Reserve to announce additional interest rate cuts in 2026, further lifting prices. The Fed last lowered rates by 0.25% in December, its third cut of 2025.
This week’s silver sell-off was “largely technical: early profit-taking on precious metals’ recent spike, leveraged long positions being unwound, and tighter margin requirements adding pressure,” according to Pepperstone strategist Dilin Wu.
Gold prices similarly slipped by more than 4% on Monday.
The sell-off also followed CME Group’s decision to raise margin requirements for some metals futures contracts, which took effect on Monday.
Gold prices will reach $5,000 per ounce by September 2026, UBS analysts predicted this week, and could climb as high as $5,400.
