Precious metals had a blockbuster year in 2025, with gold seeing its biggest annual gain since 1979.
With financial markets spooked by concerns including Trump’s tariffs and fears that artificial intelligence-related stocks were overpriced, gold and silver repeatedly hit new record highs.
Gold peaked above $5,500 at the end of January this year, while silver also hit an all-time high of more than $120.
Wall Street analysts expect the Fed to cut interest rate at least twice in 2026. Gold tends to be seen as a more attractive investment when interest rates are low.
One of the biggest appeals of gold is its relative scarcity. Only around 216,265 tonnes of the metal have ever been mined, according to the World Gold Council trade association.
While economic worries can help push up the value of gold, prices can just as easily fall when those concerns ease or investors feel the gains have been overdone.
On Friday spot gold saw its sharpest one-day drop since 1983 with a fall of more than 9%, while silver plunged 27%.