Gold and silver are having their best year since the Bee Gees were topping music charts in the late 1970s.
Gold and silver are having their best year since the Bee Gees were topping music charts in the late 1970s
One kilogram and a five hundred gram gold bars next to one kilogram silver bars at The Vaults Group gold dealers arranged in Barcelona, Spain, in April 2025. (Angel Garcia/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Gold and silver are having their best year since the Bee Gees were topping music charts in the late 1970s.
Investors are snapping up the precious metals as uncertainty grips global markets, ranging from President Donald Trump's tariffs to his blistering attacks on the Federal Reserve. Now gold and silver are on track to post their best annual performances since 1979, when high inflation and crises in the Middle East similarly unnerved investors seeking safe havens to park their cash.
Part of the demand for gold has been powered by central banks in China and Brazil, according to senior analyst Krishan Gopaul of the World Gold Council.
Gold is treated as a safe investment to hedge against risks to dominant currencies like the U.S. dollar. Its value tends to increase when the U.S. dollar weakens. That's been the case in 2025, with the dollar shedding about 10% of its value while the price of gold futures soared 64% so far this year. Gold prices, though, fell sharply on Monday after exchange operator CME $CME raised margin requirements to ensure traders hand over more cash to support their bets.
As of Tuesday, gold futures were trading at $4,400 per ounce, still near record highs.
Silver recorded a banner year as well, experiencing a 136% boost in value since January. Silver was trading at roughly $76 per ounce as of Tuesday. These days, one ounce of silver is worth more than a barrel of crude oil, per The Wall Street Journal. Investors and money managers view it as a cheaper alternative to gold and expensive stocks, rendering it a more attractive metal.
Still, silver prices dropped 5% on Monday, its worst daily trading session in four years. It prompted concern from Tesla $TSLA CEO Elon Musk, since silver serves as a critical element in industry and manufacturing.
The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates next year, which has served to further spike prices for gold and silver as well.
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