Gold Prices Close Week in Positive Territory, Silver Hits Record High, Fed Interest Rate Cuts Expected
Silver prices surged ATH last night, while gold closed the week in positive territory, driven by growing expectations of Fed rate cut twice next year
Reuters reported that silver prices soared to a record high on Friday, December 19, 2025, supported by strong investment demand and supply constraints. Gold also ended the week on a positive note, driven by rising expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.
Spot silver prices jumped 2.6% to $67.14 per ounce, closing the week up 8.4%, after reaching a new all-time high of $67.45 during the day.
Spot gold prices rose 0.4% to $4,347.07 per ounce at 2:17 p.m. ET (19:17 GMT), and ended the week up 1.1%. U.S. gold futures closed 0.5% higher at $4,387.30.
Michael Matusek, Head of Trading at U.S. Global Investors, stated, “(Gold and silver) are highly correlated, and typically gold leads. But over the past two months, we’ve seen silver lead. So when the spread gets wide, players start buying gold to narrow the spread in the short term.”
This year, silver prices have surged by 132%, outpacing gold, which has risen by 65%, driven by strong investment demand and supply constraints.
Phillip Streible, Chief Market Strategist at Blue Line Futures, added, “The main theme remains the flow of money into silver ETFs, including some retail investor speculation.”
Macroeconomic data further fueled expectations for interest rate cuts, with the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rising 2.7% year-on-year in November, lower than economists' expectations of 3.1%.
On the other hand, the U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier this week that the unemployment rate increased to 4.6% in November, the highest level since September 2021.
Streible added, “We’ve seen both inflation data ease and weaker labor market reports, reinforcing the idea that the Fed should continue easing monetary policy. This is one of the key drivers. The other is the great uncertainty about how the central bank will proceed.”
According to data from LSEG, traders continue to bet that the Fed will cut interest rates at least twice, by 0.25% each, in 2026.
Platinum prices rose 3.1% to $1,975.51, after reaching a 17-year high on Thursday, while palladium gained 0.8% to $1,709.75, after hitting a nearly three-year high during intra-day trading. Both metals also closed the week in positive territory.
