What was 2025 like for metals? For some, the driving force was safe-haven status, for others artificial intelligence

Popular gold experienced a strong year, during which its price was influenced by several factors. Among the most significant reasons for growth was the return of Donald Trump to the leadership of the USA. His rhetoric had already been alarming during the presidential campaign, culminating in strict tariff rules, trade uncertainty, and investors moving money into safe havens. To this, it is necessary to add other changes in the world, such as problems of the French government, elections in Japan, and the very recent closure of U.S. government offices for a long 45 days. Central banks were also interested in gold this year, continuing strong purchases in the last months of the year. Inflows of funds into gold-backed ETFs also increased. An important factor was also the decisions of the Federal Reserve (FED) on interest rates. The bank cut rates a total of three times in 2025, most recently in December by 0.25 percentage points to 3.50–3.75%. Although this was an expected move, it happened despite a lack of data from relevant areas, which was caused by the closed offices. Tensions were further increased by ongoing war conflicts and the recent accusation by the USA against Venezuela that the country is financing drug-related criminal activity with money from oil sales.

A record year for gold

The yellow metal recorded gains of approximately 70% in both futures contracts and its spot price since the beginning of the year, reaching new record levels just a few days before the end of the year. On December 23, 2025, spot gold rose to 4,493 USD per ounce, while futures surpassed the 4,500 USD level. The reason was further potential interest rate cuts and lower volatility, which typically occurs at the end of the year. From a 5-year perspective, this represented an upward change of more than approximately 140%.*

https://www.investing.com/commodities/gold

https://www.investing.com/currencies/xau-usd

The development of gold futures contracts and spot gold prices over the past 5 years. Source: Investing.com*

The surprising performance of silver

Another precious metal, silver, also posted a solid performance. Although the market for this commodity is significantly smaller than that of gold, interest remains high, as evidenced by exchange data. During Asian trading on December 23, 2025, the price of spot silver and contracts surpassed the psychological level of 70 USD per ounce. This represents a robust price increase of 140% since the beginning of the year. Such a sharp rise toward historical highs is rare for silver, having occurred only four times since the 1980s. Over five years, this represented an increase of approximately 170%.* The growing investor interest in silver was also reflected in the so-called gold-to-silver ratio. This ratio indicates how many ounces of silver are needed to purchase one ounce of gold; the lower the ratio, the more likely silver is undervalued, signalling potential growth. For comparison, in April this indicator was above the level of 100, while in October it had already fallen to 78.

https://www.investing.com/commodities/silver

https://www.investing.com/currencies/xag-usd

The development of silver futures contracts and spot silver prices over the past 5 years. Source: Investing.com*

Growth driven by technology

Similarly to gold, changes in interest rates are a key driving force, with the latest highs linked to a possible further rate cut in the spring of next year. Silver was supported this year by demand from central banks, along with inflows of money into silver-backed ETF funds. Last but not least, its correlation with gold also contributed, with a visible “spillover effect,” where silver becomes more attractive as a cheaper alternative to its yellow counterpart. Silver’s advantage lies mainly in its use in the technology sector. Thanks to its physical and chemical properties, it is increasingly used in electrification, especially in electric vehicles, solar energy, artificial intelligence, and data centres. According to The Silver Institute, the continued growth of these segments should lead to higher demand for this metal in the future, resulting in higher prices.[1]

Green energy as a driving force

The energy transformation has also left its mark on other metals, namely industrial ones. These include copper, aluminium, platinum, lithium, and palladium, whose prices recorded gains of tens of percent this year. As mentioned in the case of silver, the continued use of these metals in electrification and other sectors could continue to push their prices higher. Moreover, some metals went through their own “specific issues” that affected their prices. In China, lithium mining was suspended for a certain period at CATL’s largest mine, while in the case of copper, environmental events such as floods in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and landslides in Indonesia played a role. Geopolitics, especially the war in Ukraine and export bans, pushed aluminium prices higher. Platinum benefited from banks’ decisions to store the metal in the USA in order to protect against tariffs, as well as from strong demand from the world’s second-largest economy, China.

Records before Christmas

This year, platinum performed the best, with the value of its futures contracts rising by 130%, and, similarly to gold and silver, reaching a historical high of 2,215 USD in December. Palladium also enjoyed strong annual appreciation, with its price rising by 100% and likewise reaching a 3-year high of 1,935 USD on December 23, 2025. Aluminium recorded a moderate 30% increase, not only on the U.S. exchange but also in the United Kingdom. In both cases, the pre-Christmas period brought growth toward record levels of 5.55 USD in the U.S. and nearly 12,000 USD in the UK. Since the beginning of the year, aluminium recorded only slightly more than a 15% increase to its current value of 2,956 USD.*

https://www.investing.com/commodities/platinum

https://www.investing.com/commodities/palladium

https://www.investing.com/commodities/copper?cid=959211

https://www.investing.com/commodities/copper

https://www.investing.com/commodities/aluminum

The development of futures contract prices for platinum, palladium, copper, and aluminum over the past 5 years. Source: Investing.com*

* Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

[1] Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and current expectations, which may be inaccurate, or on the current economic environment, which may change. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance. They involve risks and other uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements.