Global Flight to Safety Intensifies as Gold, Silver, and Platinum Hit New Highs — ‘Currency Wars’ Author Predicts $10,000 Gold and $200 Silver

TradingKey - On Friday, December 26, spot silver delivered a stellar performance, successively conquering multiple resistance levels to close above the $75 per ounce threshold, once again reaching an all-time high. Concurrently, gold also demonstrated robust momentum, successfully breaching the $4,530 per ounce mark. Not to be outdone, spot platinum, a key member of the precious metals complex, surged significantly to $2,413.62 per ounce, similarly setting a new historical record.

Since the start of 2025, silver, which offers both investment attributes and industrial utility, has surged by approximately 150%, establishing itself as one of the year's top-performing commodities. Gold, a traditional safe-haven asset, has advanced nearly 70%. Both precious metals are now on track to surpass their largest annual percentage gains since 1979.

Silver: Physical Market Tightness Fuels Short Squeeze

In the current precious metals rally, silver has undeniably assumed a leading role. Its ascent has been propelled not only by a global inflow of safe-haven capital but also by significant internal market structural imbalances.

Since October this year, an unprecedented and large-scale short squeeze initiated the upward movement, rapidly accelerating its price appreciation.

Concurrently, the London market is grappling with unprecedented physical supply tightness. A key indicator, the '1-year swap rate minus US short-term rates,' has plunged to -7.18%, signaling an extreme scarcity of physical silver. This has led many holders of paper positions to seek physical delivery opportunities, often at elevated costs.

Gold: Sustained Capital Inflow

This year, the Federal Reserve has executed three interest rate cuts, lowering the federal funds rate to a range of 3.50%-3.75%. Given that precious metals do not generate interest income, the reduced borrowing costs have substantially enhanced their appeal. Market consensus widely projects an additional 50 basis point rate cut by the Fed in 2026, which would further diminish the opportunity cost of holding gold.

Central bank gold purchases have established new historical records for several consecutive years, with emerging market nations like China, India, and Turkey leading as major buyers. The latest data from the World Gold Council reveals that global central bank gold reserves increased by over 1,000 tons in 2025, a trend that is anticipated to provide ongoing support for gold prices.

ETF holdings have seen a notable increase, with the world's largest, the SPDR Gold Trust, experiencing a rise of over 20% in its holdings this year. Institutional investors are actively re-evaluating their asset allocation strategies, leading to a continuous increase in gold's weighting within their portfolios.

Concurrently, geopolitical tensions continue to escalate.

The United States' blockade on Venezuelan oil tankers has intensified regional friction, thereby elevating safe-haven demand for precious metals. Over the Christmas period, the Russia-Ukraine conflict underwent a significant escalation, as both sides engaged in their largest drone offensive and defensive battles since the war began, with strikes impacting energy infrastructure and port oil storage facilities.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused European nations of condoning the continuation of the Ukraine conflict, completely disregarding peace initiatives. This persistent geopolitical uncertainty provides a robust foundation for safe-haven demand for precious metals.

“Uncertainty continues to be a defining characteristic of the global economy,” stated Joe Cavatoni, Senior Market Strategist at the World Gold Council. “In this environment, gold’s appeal as a strategic diversifier and a source of stability is growing significantly.”

Platinum: Supply Constraints Drive Price Surge

Platinum’s performance in this rally has also been remarkable. Following a technical correction on Thursday, it experienced a strong rebound on Friday, again reaching an all-time high.

As the global precious metals rotation continues to deepen, shifts in platinum’s supply and demand fundamentals have emerged as a primary driver of its price appreciation.

Firstly, the supply side is highly concentrated, creating a vulnerable situation. According to data from the World Platinum Investment Council, South Africa accounts for approximately 72% of the global mined supply. However, the nation has long been plagued by persistent issues, including power restrictions, labor strikes, and mining accidents, which render its export capacity highly susceptible to disruption and significantly impact the stable operations of downstream industries.

Current international forecasts suggest that this supply deficit will persist for at least the next year. Furthermore, emerging signs of policy reversal, such as the European Union's suspected postponement of its 2035 ban on new internal combustion engine vehicles, have reignited demand expectations for platinum group metals in automotive catalysts.

In comparison to gold and silver supplies, platinum is considerably scarcer. Global annual new gold supply stands at approximately 115-116 million ounces, silver at about 835-837 million ounces, whereas platinum production is a mere 5.8-6.1 million ounces.

This implies that, relatively, platinum is approximately 20 times scarcer than gold and over 100 times scarcer than silver.

“Platinum prices are being supported by strong industrial demand, and stockists in the U.S. have been covering positions amid sanctions-related concerns, which is helping keep prices elevated,” said Jigar Trivedi, senior research analyst at Reliance Securities based in Mumbai.

Jim Rickards Forecasts Explosive Gold and Silver Prices by 2026

Renowned economist and author of 'Currency Wars,' Jim Rickards, has issued striking predictions for the precious metals market in 2026.

Rickards stated, “I would not be surprised at all if the price of gold reaches $10,000 per ounce by the end of 2026. I am confident this will materialize. Silver will follow suit, with its price potentially reaching $200 per ounce.”

He posits that traditional drivers of the current gold bull market—sustained central bank gold purchases and stagnant supply growth—will continue to exert influence in 2026. Crucially, however, he expects emerging non-traditional factors, such as the significant entry of institutional investors like sovereign wealth funds and university endowments, to further propel prices upward.

Rickards explained, “If you are Saudi Arabia, Japan, Taiwan, Brazil, or any other major holder of U.S. Treasury bonds, you would logically ask, ‘What if the U.S. disapproves of my actions? Perhaps I should diversify my holdings into gold.’”

Pertaining to silver, he emphasized that the excessive trading of paper contracts, which disproportionately magnifies the actual deliverable quantity, has created a physical resource shortage due to what he terms a “100:1” derivatives leverage. As an increasing number of institutions demand physical delivery, this dynamic will inevitably drive spot prices higher.