Wow, what a wild year for precious metals! 🚀
Gold just smashed all-time highs above $4,500/oz (peaking around $4,549), up over 70% YTD from ~$2,623 at the start of 2025 – the biggest annual gain since 1979! Fueled by safe-haven buying, Fed rate cut bets for 2026, geopolitical drama, central banks loading up, and a softer dollar.
Silver absolutely crushed it though – outperforming gold big time with highs over $80/oz (some hits ~$83-84), nearly tripling from ~$29 early 2025 (~150-170% gains!). Industrial boom in solar/electronics, supply squeezes, upcoming China export curbs in Jan 2026, plus spillover from gold. Even Elon Musk chimed in: "This is not good" – warning about hits to manufacturers from soaring costs.
But year-end profit-taking hit hard: Gold dropped ~4-5% to ~$4,330-4,350, silver plunged 9-11% to ~$71-73. Classic volatility in thin holiday markets.
The "debasement trade" amid high debt and policy uncertainty drove this rally all year. What's your play heading into 2026? Holding PMs, or taking profits? 🤔
