On Friday during the US trading session, spot silver continued to rise, breaking through the $33/ounce mark for the first time since December 2012. As of press time, the increase in silver prices has widened to 6%, at $33.59 per ounce; At the same time, spot gold reached a record high of $2720 per ounce.
For precious metal investors, the situation has undergone a dramatic change, as gold prices continue to hit historic highs, and silver prices have finally begun to gain momentum.
Driven by geopolitical tensions, expectations of loose monetary policy, economic uncertainty, and changes in investor sentiment, the precious metals market has experienced unprecedented upward momentum.
On Friday local time, Russian President Putin revealed that Russia is working with BRICS countries to build a clearing system similar to SWIFT, which will not be affected by Western sanctions. Russian Prime Minister Mishustin mentioned at another event that the country will create its own international payment system.
Mishustin said, "We hope to create a domestic settlement infrastructure that can replace foreign systems through the joint efforts of the government, the Russian central bank, and the financial industry, to ensure that international payments are conducted in accordance with fair principles, and to ensure equal rights and payment confidentiality among countries, and to allow real-time transactions at the lowest cost
According to sources, the payment system developed by BRICS countries may use gold as a payment option to reduce dependence on the US dollar. However, these details still require official confirmation.
In addition, the Trump deal is also one of the driving forces behind the rise in precious metals. Recently, the support rate for Republican presidential candidate Trump has significantly increased, and the market is increasingly believing that Trump will win the US election early next month.
In terms of geopolitics, after Israel announced the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the market is concerned that the Middle East conflict will further escalate.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has stated that Israel will continue to fight until all hostages captured by Hamas last year are released, despite US President Biden stating that it is time to end the war. In times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, investors typically seek safety in gold.
Alexander Zumpfe, a precious metals trader at Heraeus Metals, said that as the Middle East conflict intensifies, investors are flocking to traditional safe haven assets such as gold. Concerns about the US presidential election and expectations of loose monetary policy have further driven the upward trend
Max Layton, head of global commodity research at Citigroup, predicts that gold prices will reach $3000 per ounce in the next 6-12 months, boosting demand for gold ETFs and investments as a wealth storage tool amid high economic uncertainty in the United States and Europe. Layton added that silver prices are expected to rise strongly to $35 per ounce in the next three months.