Dec 31 – Gold and silver both traded lower on Wednesday, but were on track for unprecedented milestones as the year approaches its close, while other precious metals also made impressive gains.

* Spot gold was down 0.3% at $4,334.20 per ounce as of 0032 GMT, after hitting a record high of $4,549.71 on Friday.

* U.S. gold futures for February delivery lost 1% to $4,346.50/oz.

* The U.S. dollar rose to a more than one-week high in the previous session, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for other currency holders.

* Bullion has staged a stellar rally in 2025, climbing 66% so far, in what looks to be its largest annual gain since 1979, the year of the Iranian revolution.

* Interest rate cuts and bets of further easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve, geopolitical conflicts, robust demand from central banks and rising holdings in exchange-traded funds have fueled gold’s rally this year.

* The U.S. Federal Reserve agreed to cut interest rates at its December meeting only after a deeply nuanced debate about the risks facing the U.S. economy right now, according to minutes of the latest two-day session.

* The Fed next meets on January 27-28, with investors currently expecting rates to be left unchanged.

* Non-yielding assets tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment.

* Spot silver fell 2.7% to $74.41 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $83.62 on Monday.

* Silver has gained 157% year-to-date, far outpacing gold, and set for its best year ever recorded.

* The metal broke through multiple important milestones for the first time, propelled by its designation as a critical U.S. mineral, supply constraints and low inventories amid rising industrial and investment demand.

* Spot platinum shed 3.4% to $2,123.55 per ounce, after rising to an all-time high of $2,478.50 on Monday, and was also set for its best year ever, having climbed 135%.

* Platinum’s rally has been fuelled by the EU’s U-turn on its 2035 combustion-engine ban, a tight supply backdrop and rising investment demand for precious metals.

* Palladium fell 1.6% to $1,584.67 per ounce, set to close the year up 74%, its best in nearly 15 years.

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