Silver Rises Over 120% YTD 
Daily News Nuggets | Today’s top stories for gold and silver investors
December 10th, 2025
Silver Breaks $60 for First Time in History
Silver shattered records this week, climbing above $60 per ounce for the first time ever. The white metal hit an intraday peak of $61.44, capping a year where it’s more than doubled in value — outpacing even gold’s 60% rally.
What’s driving it? Fed rate cuts are making non-yielding assets more attractive, the dollar is weakening, and industrial demand from solar panels, EVs, and AI chips keeps surging. But here’s the real squeeze: silver is facing its seventh straight year of supply deficits. London vault inventories have plummeted from 31,000 metric tons in 2022 to just 22,000 today.
That physical shortage has borrowing costs spiking to 200% annualized, with traders airlifting bars to meet deadlines. With the gold-silver ratio at its lowest since 2021, investors priced out of gold are piling into silver for similar protection at a fraction of the cost. Retail investors aren’t the only ones loading up on precious metals right now.
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Central Banks Ramp Up Gold Buying to Highest Level This Year
Central banks accelerated gold purchases in October, buying 53 tonnes — the highest monthly total of 2025. Poland and Brazil led the charge, each adding 16 tonnes to their reserves. For Poland, that pushed holdings to a record 531 tonnes. For Brazil, it marked the second straight month of buying after a four-year pause.
Year-to-date purchases through October hit 254 tonnes, making 2025 the fourth-strongest year for central bank gold accumulation this century. But here’s the bigger picture: central banks have now bought more than 1,000 tonnes annually since 2022 — more than double their 2015-2019 average. The sustained buying spree reflects strategic diversification away from dollar-denominated assets amid geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty.
In fact, central banks now hold more gold than U.S. Treasuries for the first time since 1996 — a historic shift in how nations are thinking about reserves.
Trump Sets “Immediate” Rate Cuts as Litmus Test for Next Fed Chair
President Trump made it clear this week: his pick for the next Fed chair must support “immediate” rate cuts. In a Politico interview, Trump confirmed that quick action on borrowing costs would be a critical test for whoever replaces Jerome Powell when his term ends in May.
Trump has hammered Powell as “Mr. Too Late,” questioning his intelligence and alleging political bias. Kevin Hassett, Trump’s top economic adviser and presumed frontrunner, has aligned with the president, saying current data supports immediate cuts. But Hassett’s also suggested the Fed should stay flexible rather than telegraph moves too far ahead—a tricky balance between Trump’s demands and maintaining central bank independence.
With Fed officials already split between worrying about inflation versus labor market weakness, Trump’s public pressure adds another layer of uncertainty to an already contentious debate.
Rate Cuts Won’t Fix What’s Broken in the Housing Market
The Fed’s expected rate cut this week might not deliver the mortgage relief homebuyers are hoping for. Here’s why: mortgage rates don’t follow the Fed’s benchmark. They track 10-year Treasury yields, which move on inflation expectations and economic growth—not just Fed policy.
After the Fed cut rates in September, 30-year mortgage rates actually rose within weeks. Experts say rates would need to fall about 100 basis points, to around 5.5%, to really jumpstart home sales.
But there’s a bigger problem: the average existing mortgage sits at 4.1% while new loans run near 6.5%. That 200-point gap has homeowners locked in, unwilling to sell and face higher costs on their next purchase. The result? Limited inventory, elevated prices, and an affordability crisis that rate cuts alone can’t solve. Forecasters expect mortgage rates to stay above 6% through 2026.
Trump Announces $12 Billion Farm Bailout as Tariffs Bite
President Trump rolled out a $12 billion bailout for American farmers Monday, tacitly acknowledging his tariff policies are squeezing a core constituency. The package includes $11 billion in one-time payments to row-crop producers and $1 billion for specialty crops, with funds arriving by late February.
Trump framed it as using tariff revenues, but the money actually comes from a USDA emergency fund — taxpayer dollars, not tariff collections. The problem? China halted U.S. soybean purchases from May through October, crushing export markets while tariffs drove up costs for equipment and fertilizer.
Many farmers are already locking in orders at lower prices, guaranteeing losses for 2025. Agricultural economists are calling it a “Band-Aid on a bigger wound” — welcome, but far from a solution. It echoes Trump’s first term, when he spent $28 billion on farm bailouts, with most money flowing to the biggest operations.
