Gold and silver jumped to all-time highs, with escalating geopolitical tensions and US dollar weakness helping to extend a historic rally for precious metals. Platinum also hit a record.

Spot gold rose as much as 1.2% to a peak above $4,530 an ounce. Frictions in Venezuela, where the US has blockaded oil tankers and ramped up pressure on the government of Nicolás Maduro, have added to the precious metal’s haven appeal. In Africa, the US has launched a “powerful and deadly strike” against a terrorist group in Nigeria, according to a social-media post by President Donald Trump.

Spot silver for immediate delivery advanced for a fifth straight session, climbing as much as 4.6% to cross $75 an ounce for the first time. The white metal’s recent advance has been buoyed by speculative inflows and lingering supply dislocations across major trading hubs following a historic short squeeze in October.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a key gauge of the US currency’s strength, was down 0.8% for the week, its biggest drop since June. A weaker dollar is generally supportive of gold and silver prices.

Gold has gained around 70% this year and silver more than 150%, with both metals on track for their best annual performances since 1979. The scorching rally has been supported by elevated central-bank purchases, inflows to exchange-traded funds and three successive interest-rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. Lower borrowing costs are a tailwind for precious metals, which don’t pay interest, and traders are betting on more rate cuts in 2026.

Trump’s aggressive moves to remake global trade, along with threats to the Fed’s independence, added momentum to the rally earlier this year. Investor demand has also been underpinned by the so-called debasement trade, as concerns over swelling debt loads drive a retreat from sovereign bonds and the currencies they are issued in.

Gold’s resilience was demonstrated by its quick recovery after retreating from a previous peak of $4,381 in October, when the rally was seen as overheated. Heavy ETF buying has been a major driver of the latest surge, with holdings in State Street Corp.’s SPDR Gold Trust — the biggest precious-metals ETF — rising by more than a fifth this year.

Silver’s rally has been even more spectacular than gold’s. Vaults in London have drawn sizable inflows since the October squeeze, though much of the world’s readily available silver remains in New York as traders await the outcome of a US Commerce Department probe into whether imports of critical minerals pose a national security risk. The review could pave the way for tariffs or other trade curbs on the metal.

Partly for the same reason, platinum has been on a tear in recent weeks — this month alone, it has risen by more than 40%. The metal traded on Friday above $2,400 an ounce for the first time since Bloomberg began compiling data in 1987. In addition to strong physical demand, global supply of the metal used in the automotive and jewelry sectors is on course for a third annual deficit this year, due largely to disruptions in major producer South Africa.

Gold rose 0.6% to $4,504.19 as of 11:05 a.m. in Singapore. Silver climbed 4% to $74.73. Platinum advanced 6.5% to $2,403.17 and palladium was up 4.5%.

Courtesy : Bloomberg