Gold prices continued to extend their explosive increase in Thursday's trading session, setting a new record when approaching the 5,600 USD/ounce mark, in the context of investors seeking safe assets in the face of geopolitical and economic instability. Meanwhile, silver prices also moved very close to the 120 USD/ounce mark.
Spot gold prices jumped 2.6% to 5,551.39 USD/ounce in this afternoon's trading session, after reaching a historic peak of 5,591.61 USD/ounce earlier in the day.
Increased US public debt, along with uncertainties stemming from signs that the global trade system is fragmenting into regional blocs, instead of operating under a US-centered model, is causing investors to flock to gold," said Edward Meir, an analyst at Marex.
This precious metal for the first time surpassed the 5,000 USD/ounce mark on Monday, and has increased by more than 10% just this week, thanks to the resonance of many factors, including strong safe-haven demand, stable buying activity by central banks and a weakening USD.
Gold is no longer simply a tool to hedge against crises or inflation; it is increasingly seen as a neutral, reliable value-saving asset, while helping to diversify portfolios in various macroeconomic scenarios," OCBC analysts said in a report.
Since the beginning of the year, gold prices have increased by more than 27%, after breaking through 64% in 2025.
Although the parabolic upward momentum shows that the possibility of correction is not far away, fundamental factors are expected to continue to support the market throughout 2026, thereby turning every correction into an attractive buying opportunity," said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG.
In geopolitics, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach an agreement on its nuclear program. He warned that any future US attacks would be much more serious than last year's airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to keep interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Wednesday, as predicted. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that inflation in December is likely to remain significantly higher than the central bank's 2% target.
In Thursday's trading session, gold prices were also supported by the plan of a cryptocurrency corporation to allocate 10%–15% of its investment portfolio to physical gold.
At the same time, in the face of high gold prices, consumers in Shanghai and Hong Kong are flocking to precious metal trading stores, with many people betting that gold prices will continue to rise.
In other precious metals, spot silver prices rose 0.6% to $117.30/ounce, after reaching a record high of $119.34/ounce earlier. Investor demand for cheaper options than gold, along with supply shortages and momentum buying, strongly supported silver, which has increased by more than 60% since the beginning of the year.
The silver market is forecast to continue to fall into a shortage this year, but the real level of tension comes from the decline in available inventories in the market," said analysts at Standard Chartered.
Meanwhile, platinum prices rose 1.6% to $2,739.48/ounce, after setting a record high of $2,918.80/ounce on Monday; and palladium prices fell 1.3% to $2,047/ounce.
