Silver Rises Over 120% YTD 
Daily News Nuggets | Today’s top stories for gold and silver investors
December 26th, 2025
Gold Notches Its 50th All-Time High of the Year, Blasts Through $4,500
Gold just achieved something no other major asset managed in 2025: its 50th record high of the year. Spot prices smashed through $4,500, driven by central-bank demand, stubborn inflation, and growing doubts about global growth.
What’s behind the rally? Analysts point to a rare trifecta: falling real yields, elevated geopolitical risk, and relentless buying from Asia—especially China and the Middle East. Meanwhile, investors are rotating out of expensive tech stocks and into hard assets.
Gold’s breakout signals a structural shift. The metal isn’t just bouncing on headlines anymore. It’s acting like capital’s preferred insurance policy in an increasingly unstable world.
Gold isn’t rallying alone — silver is staging its own historic breakout.
How to Add ‘Crisis-Proof’ Returns to Your Portfolio It's beaten stocks in every major downturn—and most investors still don't own enough.
Silver Surges to Record Highs on China Buying Frenzy
Silver is ripping to all-time highs in Shanghai as Chinese investors pile into the metal. Overnight, silver passed $75 per ounce. The drivers? A weak yuan, a stagnant property market, and rising geopolitical tension. Prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange are trading well above international benchmarks, widening the arbitrage gap and pulling in wholesalers and refiners.
Why the aggression? Simple: distrust of traditional financial assets. Real estate remains under pressure. Equity markets stay volatile. Silver offers something different — a hard asset with both monetary credibility and industrial necessity.
Silver acts as a barometer for retail investor anxiety. When Chinese demand surges, global prices typically follow. With industrial use expanding — particularly in solar panels and electric vehicles — the metal’s momentum could have further to run.
The precious metals rally extends beyond gold and silver — even platinum is breaking records.
Platinum Jumps to Record on Supply Crunch, EU Policy Reversal
Platinum prices are hitting record levels after the European Union reversed its ban on combustion engines. That policy shift effectively extends the timeline for gasoline and diesel vehicles — and supercharges demand for catalytic converters.
Timing couldn’t be worse for supply. South African output, which anchors the global market, remains severely constrained by power shortages and mine closures. Producers warn the deficit could persist for years without new investment. Automakers, now adjusting to a longer ICE runway, are locking in contracts at elevated prices.
Why this matters: Tight supply combined with renewed industrial demand creates explosive pricing conditions. Platinum’s surge highlights how metals tied to the energy transition can whipsaw violently when policy changes course.
But while precious metals soar, serious questions are mounting about the economic data fueling the rally.
Economists Push Back: U.S. Nowhere Near 4%–5% Growth
Despite official claims of 4.3% GDP growth, the underlying data tells a different story. Retail sales are softening. Manufacturing surveys remain stuck in contraction. Consumer credit delinquencies continue climbing. Several forecasters now believe real growth is tracking closer to 1%–2% — nowhere near government projections.
Markets are starting to agree. Bond yields have stabilized. Recession talk is creeping back into the conversation. Investors are watching upcoming employment and inflation reports closely for confirmation.
Here’s what we’re watching: If growth disappoints while inflation stays elevated, the U.S. could drift into a stagflationary environment. Historically, that’s one of the most bullish setups for gold.
That stagflation risk is exactly why central banks — especially China — are aggressively accumulating gold.
China Sets New Record for Russian Gold Imports
China continues reshaping global gold flows. November marked Beijing’s largest-ever monthly import of Russian gold, according to customs data. The move reflects China’s strategy to diversify reserves and deepen bilateral trade outside the dollar system.
Western sanctions have effectively shut Russian gold out of U.S. and European markets, redirecting supply toward Asia. Analysts say China’s appetite isn’t opportunistic—it’s structural. This aligns with Beijing’s long-term strategy of building geopolitical resilience through hard-asset reserves.
Why this matters: Central-bank buying has emerged as one of the strongest pillars supporting the current gold bull market. China’s sustained accumulation reinforces a key shift: gold’s demand base is moving east and becoming far less price-sensitive.
