First off, I would like to wish all readers a happy, prosperous, and healthy 2026. And, of course, a “golden touch” when it comes to investments. Those who invested in precious metals last year did indeed have the golden touch. In terms of value appreciation since the beginning of the year, gold only achieved an honorable fourth place among the four precious metals, albeit at a remarkable gain of around 65 percent in US dollars.
Trading year closes with strong volatility in precious metals
The last days of the old year were also marked by very low liquidity on the financial markets due to the favorable timing of public holidays, which in turn led to unusually strong volatility across precious metals markets. In principle, two opposing interests often clash on the financial markets at the end of the year. On the one hand, institutional investors, in an effort to demonstrate to their clients their participation in the price rally, may continue to expand their gold holdings. Contrarily, other investors aim to take profits before the end of the year and therefore sell part of their holdings.
This is the likely reason for the sharp price movements during the last four trading days of the old year, with the silver price once again showing the most violent volatility. And for the first time, gold topped the 4,500 US$ per ounce mark before profit-taking set in.
Gold surges past 4,500 US$
While gold traded at 4,335 US$ per ounce on Thursday morning, 18 December, and ended the week at the same level, things really took off over the Christmas week. On 24 December, it broke the 4,500 US$ per ounce mark for the first time and reached the current record high of around 4,549.50 US$ on 26 December. Then came the profit-taking, which sent the gold price plummeting. It ended the year at around 4,320. Demand reignited at the beginning of this week due to geopolitical uncertainties. On Wednesday morning, it touched the 4,500 US$ mark but then dropped to 4,425 over the course of the day. At the time of writing of this report, gold traded at around 4,450 US$ per ounce.
Xetra-Gold also at a new record high
The Xetra-Gold price has been slightly supported in recent days by a somewhat weaker euro against the US dollar. It rose from 118.60 € per gram on the morning of 18 December to 122.60 on the last trading day before Christmas. On 29 December, it briefly dropped to 117.35, but ended the year at 120.35 € per gram, a gain of just under 50 percent since the beginning of the year. Xetra-Gold continued to rise to a new record high of 123.45 on Tuesday before weakening slightly to 122.35 € per gram on Wednesday.
Silver, platinum, and copper also in demand
This week saw a sharper focus on the white precious metals, their price fluctuations even greater than those of gold, particularly silver and platinum (also at a record high). Industrial metals have recently also been attracting increased attention due to copper reaching record highs. December US labor market data is eagerly awaited this Friday and could cause some volatility on the markets.
I wish all readers an excellent start to the new year and every success.