Gold posts best year in 46 years, up 63%, as silver rockets 140% in 2025

Bloomberg reported that gold and silver prices fell in the final trading session of 2025, but both precious metals still delivered their strongest annual returns in more than four decades, capping what was described as “the best year since the 1970s”.

Spot gold traded around US$4,320 an ounce. US Comex gold futures for February delivery fell US$45.20, or 1.03%, to close at US$4,341.10 an ounce.

Silver eased to near US$71 an ounce after hitting a record high of US$83.62 on Monday, December 29, 2025.

Both metals saw sharp swings in thin, post-holiday trading. Prices slumped on Monday, rebounded on Tuesday, then fell again on Wednesday. The heightened volatility prompted CME Group, the futures exchange operator, to raise margin requirements twice.

Gold and silver were heading for their best performance since 1979, supported by strong safe-haven demand amid rising geopolitical risks and US Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Investors also piled into the so-called “debasement trade”, betting that major currencies would weaken as inflation concerns and rising debt burdens in developed economies accelerated gains across precious metals this year.

2025: a golden year for gold

For gold—the much larger market—those tailwinds drove investors into gold-backed ETFs, while central banks worldwide continued adding to reserves, extending a multi-year buying streak.

Over 2025, gold climbed about 63%. In September, it broke an inflation-adjusted record set 45 years earlier, when pressure on the US dollar, surging inflation and a looming recession helped drive gold to US$850 an ounce. This time, gold notched fresh all-time highs and pushed above US$4,000 in early October.

“In my entire career, I’ve never seen anything like this,” said John Reade, a strategist at the World Gold Council (WGC), adding that the scale and frequency of new record highs—and how far prices exceeded expectations—were unprecedented.

Silver outpaces every asset, up 140%

Silver rose more than 140% in 2025, fuelled by speculative demand alongside strong industrial use. The metal is widely used in electronics, solar panels and electric vehicles. In October, silver hit a record amid tariff concerns that spurred increased imports into the United States, tightening the London market and triggering a historic supply squeeze. 

That record was broken again the following month after US rate cuts and speculative flows pushed prices higher. Silver then reached another all-time high above US$80 early this week, including US$83.62 on Monday, December 29, 2025—partly reflecting stronger buying interest from China.

However, the move reversed sharply the same day, with the market closing down 9% on Monday before remaining volatile over the next two sessions. In response, CME Group raised margins again, requiring more cash to maintain futures positions—potentially forcing some speculators to cut exposure or exit, adding further pressure to prices.

Ross Norman, CEO of Metals Daily, said the key driver was CME’s second margin hike in just a few days, noting that the higher requirements were “cooling the market”.

Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets in Singapore, said the surprise this year was that safe-haven assets such as precious metals had turned into a momentum trade—especially silver.

At 3.20am, silver was down 7.1% at US$70.83 an ounce, while gold slipped 0.5% to US$4,317.41. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.