Gold and silver powered to fresh record highs on Friday as investors piled into safe-haven assets, extending an already forceful year-end rally in precious metals.
A softer US dollar, rising geopolitical tensions and thin holiday trading conditions combined to push prices sharply higher.
Spot gold was trading around $4,504 an ounce by 11:00 GMT, after briefly touching a new record high of $4,531 earlier in the session. The metal is now on track for a weekly gain of roughly 3%, as investors seek protection from mounting global uncertainty.
Silver matched gold’s strength, surging to a new all-time high of $75.62 an ounce. The move reflects not only safe-haven demand but also silver’s growing role in industrial applications, particularly electronics and clean-energy technologies.
Geopolitics remain central to the rally. Safe-haven demand intensified after the US stepped up pressure on Venezuela’s oil exports, raising concerns over potential supply disruptions and wider regional instability. Adding to the unease, President Donald Trump said US forces had carried out strikes against militant targets in Nigeria.
A weakening US dollar is also having an affect. The currency slipped against a basket of major peers, making dollar-priced metals more attractive to international buyers.
With liquidity expected to stay thin through the holiday period, traders warned that price moves could remain exaggerated. Even so, analysts say the underlying picture still points to continued strength in gold and silver as the new year approaches.