Gold prices climbed on Wednesday, while silver surged to an all-time high, as growing uncertainty around the U.S. economic outlook drove investors toward traditional safe-haven assets.
At 08:40 ET (13:40 GMT), spot gold was up 0.8% at $4,335.48 per ounce, sitting just $50 below its previous record. February gold futures also gained 0.8%, reaching $4,367.00 per ounce.
U.S. uncertainty lifts safe-haven demand
Demand for haven assets strengthened following a mixed set of U.S. economic data released on Tuesday, highlighted by modest job growth and a rise in the unemployment rate in November. The U.S. jobless rate climbed to its highest level in four years, raising concerns about the strength of the economy.
Additional signals of a slowdown emerged from weaker-than-expected December purchasing managers’ index readings. At the same time, delayed retail sales figures for October pointed to softer growth compared with the previous month.
These weaker indicators came amid ongoing worries about liquidity conditions in U.S. financial markets, particularly after the Federal Reserve resumed Treasury purchases—often referred to as “quantitative easing”—in December.
The combination of economic uncertainty and increased expectations for further Federal Reserve rate cuts has supported demand for non-yielding assets such as gold.
Investor focus now turns to Thursday’s U.S. consumer price index release, which could offer further insight into the direction of the world’s largest economy.
Gold could reach $4,600/oz in Q1 – BMO
Gold’s rally may continue into early 2026, with prices potentially pushing significantly higher, according to BMO Capital’s latest outlook on metals.
In its 2026 Metals & Bulk Commodity Price Year Ahead report, BMO Capital analyst Helen Amos said that “gold’s resilience post-October’s sell-off shows its appeal as a diversifier and safe haven endures,” adding that “spot prices could breach $4,600/oz as soon as Q1.”
BMO noted that the past year has been “spectacular for metals and mining,” with precious metal prices rising between 60% and 100%, “far in excess of year-ago expectations,” while emphasizing that “it is too soon to fade this rally.”
Silver surges to new peak
Silver prices surged sharply, with spot silver jumping 3.6% to a record $66.3135 per ounce. Silver futures rose even more strongly, climbing 4.5% to $66.430 per ounce.
Markets are increasingly pricing in the risk of a silver supply shortfall in 2026, driven by steadily rising demand. Earlier this year, the U.S. government classified silver as a critical metal, further enhancing its appeal.
Safe-haven buying has also supported silver, as investors have been drawn to its perceived stability relative to gold, but with a significantly lower cost of entry. This dynamic has helped push silver prices up more than 100% so far in 2025.
Other metals also moved higher, with platinum benefiting from haven flows, while copper found support from expectations of additional stimulus measures in China, the world’s largest importer of the industrial metal.