Gold and silver prices hit record highs in 2025, with good outlook for 2026

Gold’s stratospheric rise, the best percentage gain since 1979, surprised even the most optimistic metals experts as Wall Street companies continued to rise. The precious metal, which stood at $2,606 last December, rebounded more than 66% in 2025, hitting a series of new highs, settling around the $4,325 level by the end of the year.

Looking ahead, firms including Bank of America see the yellow metal hitting $5,000 an ounce on continued central bank buying, rising deficits linked to U.S. fiscal policy and a weak U.S. dollar, capping its worst year since 2017 with the Wall Street Journal Dollar Index down more than 6%.

“It’s still underinvested, I think at the moment. And the gold markets don’t normally stop because the gold markets are overbought and because the underlying motivations that actually started the bull market have subsided and, honestly, we don’t see that. I think everything that I described previously and what made us bullish, I think, is still in place now,” said Michael Widner, Bank Strategist of America, during a metals roundtable held in mid-December.

Gold prices hit record highs in 2025. (iStock/iStock)

While the price target represents about 14% upside from current levels, “a hawkish Fed stance is a risk,” Widner wrote.

ELON MUSK SOUNDS THE ALARM ON SILVER’S WINNING STRETCH

In addition to gold, silver had its own record year with a gain of more than 142%, while copper rallied more than 41%, the largest one-year net and percentage gain since 2009.

MacroMavens President Stephanie Pomboy, although surprised by the pace of the rise in precious metals, sees further ahead this year.

“I guess I’m surprised at how quickly we got to these numbers, although I think there’s a lot more to come because the reason I wanted people to favor hard assets over paper has only just started to come together and that rationale was mainly my prediction that we would see a resumption of QE (quantitative easing) and we did. I know they don’t call it QE, non-QE or QE light or whatever. They’re dipping their toes in the water, and I think what’s happening is what’s going to happen as we turn the page to 2026 is that the balance sheet will become the primary source of monetary stimulus,” Pomboy told FOX Business’ Charles Payne. “Balance sheet expansion is true currency debasement and there is nothing better for precious metals than that,” she added.

‘PAWN STARS’ HOST TRACKS RECORD YEAR FOR GOLD AND SILVER

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter point in December, the third straight cut in 2025. Officials also signaled the resumption of Treasury purchases.

“As detailed in a statement released today by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, reserve management purchases will amount to $40 billion in the first month and may remain elevated for a few months to ease expected near-term pressures in money markets. Thereafter, we expect the size of reserve management purchases to decline, although the actual pace will depend on market conditions,” Chairman Powell explained at his December press conference.