Gold rates continued to shine for the fourth straight session on Friday, December 26, with both domestic and global prices hitting new record highs as the demand for safe-haven assets remains strong amid expectations of US Federal Reserve rate cuts and rising geopolitical tensions, driving a continued rally across precious metals.

Gold futures for February delivery on MCX surged another 1% to a ₹1,39,550 per 10 grams”>fresh peak of ₹1,39,550 per 10 grams, edging closer to ₹1.4 lakh. The rally marked the fourth consecutive day of record highs for the yellow metal, taking the month-to-date surge to 10% and contributing to an 81% rally in 2025.

Silver prices also showed no signs of slowing down, with March futures on MCX advancing another ₹11,457 per kilogram, or 5.1%, to reach a historic high of ₹2,35,247, bringing year-to-date gains to 167%.

In international markets, spot silver crossed $75 per ounce for the first time, reaching $75.64, while spot gold scaled a fresh record high of $4,530.60 per ounce. In addition, both platinum and palladium were on the upswing as well.

Spot platinum rose 9.3% to $2,465.20 per ounce, after touching an all-time high of $2,448.25 earlier, while palladium climbed 8.6% to $1,942, following a three-year high in the previous session. All precious metals are headed for weekly gains, with platinum recording its strongest weekly rise on record.

Platinum and palladium, widely used in automotive catalytic converters, have surged due to tight supply, tariff uncertainty, and rotation from gold investment demand, with platinum up roughly 170% and palladium more than 90% year-to-date.

Rate cut expectations, geopolitical tensions fuel rally

Gold staged a strong rally this year, recording its biggest annual gain since 1979, fueled by Federal Reserve policy easing, geopolitical uncertainty, strong central bank demand, rising ETF holdings, and ongoing de-dollarization.

MCX Silver soared 167% year-to-date, outpacing gold’s nearly 81% gain, on structural deficits, its listing as a US critical mineral, and robust industrial demand.

With traders pricing in two US rate cuts next year, non-yielding assets like gold are likely to remain well-supported in a low-interest-rate environment.

On the geopolitical front, the US is focusing on enforcing a “quarantine” of Venezuelan oil for the next two months. On Thursday, it struck Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria over attacks on local Christian communities.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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