ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Gold, silver, and platinum rose unusually high on Friday as a result of speculative buying, lack of liquidity towards the year-end, and additional rate cuts in the USA.
Increasing tensions in the geopolitical field also contributed to fueling the rise in precious metals.
Spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,504.79 an ounce, briefly hitting a record high of $4,530.60, while February US gold futures rose 0.7% to $4,535.20. Silver increased 3.6% to $74.56 an ounce, having touched a historic high of $75.14.
“Momentum-driven trading activity, together with low liquidity, a weakening dollar, and possible US rate cuts, is pushing gold and silver to new record levels,” said Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst at OANDA. Gold is forecasted to approach $5,000 while silver moves towards $90 in early 2026.
Gold saw its largest year-end price advance since 1979, thanks to policies of ease by the Federal Reserve, uncertainties related to geopolitics, an increase in gold purchases by central banks, and increasing investment through ETFs.
It has significantly led gold performance this year, rising 158%, due to structural deficits, its critical mineral status in the US structure, and industrial demand.
Prices for platinum increased by 7.8% to $2,393.40 an ounce, from a high of $2,429.98, and palladium is up 5.2% to $1,771.14. Both of these metals, which are used in automotive catalytic converters, are up because of investment flow from
