Silver Rises Over 120% YTD 
Daily News Nuggets | Today’s top stories for gold and silver investors
December 12th, 2025
Silver Doubles as Precious Metals Rally Continues
Silver hit $64.29 this week, more than doubling from $32 just eight months ago. The surge has normalized the gold/silver ratio from an extreme 104:1 in April to a more typical 67:1 today.
Meanwhile, gold held near a seven-week high around $4,275. The Fed’s third consecutive rate cut and weakening dollar provided support. But the precious metals rally runs deeper than monetary policy alone.
Silver’s explosive gains stem from severe supply deficits and surging industrial demand. Solar panels, electric vehicles, and AI data centers are consuming unprecedented amounts. Gold, by contrast, continues serving its traditional role as a safe haven during geopolitical tensions and inflation concerns.
The numbers tell the story: silver is up 111% year-over-year, gold up 64%. Both metals have posted triple-digit gains over the past two years.
Investing in Physical Metals Made Easy
Americans Barely Own Gold — And That Could Send Prices Higher
Despite gold’s 60+% rally this year, U.S. investors have largely sat on the sidelines. Goldman Sachs found that gold ETFs represent just 0.17% of American private portfolios. That’s a tiny sliver of the $112 trillion held in stocks and bonds.
Less than half of large institutional investors even own gold. Those who do typically allocate only 0.1% to 0.5%.
This creates what Goldman calls “large upside risk” to their already bullish $4,900 forecast for end-2026. The gold market is roughly 70 times smaller than the Treasury market. That means even modest diversification moves could trigger outsized price jumps.
“You only need a relatively small diversification step out of global bond markets to cause significant upside for gold prices,” explained Goldman’s Daan Struyven.
With central banks buying aggressively and Fed rate cuts reducing gold’s opportunity cost, the lack of U.S. participation suggests substantial room to run.
Oil Tumbles on Oversupply Fears
Crude prices fell for the fourth straight day Friday. Brent settled around $61, WTI near $57 — both down roughly 4% for the week.
The problem? A looming global oil glut. OPEC data now suggests supply will match demand closely in 2026. That’s a sharp reversal from earlier forecasts of tightening markets.
Geopolitical risks haven’t helped. Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian infrastructure and U.S.-Venezuela tensions typically support prices. Yet the oversupply narrative has overpowered these factors. Analysts note these disruptions create only brief rallies before the weight of excess supply reasserts itself.
The takeaway for investors: production is outpacing consumption. Unless demand picks up significantly, oil’s path points lower.
Fed Split: Why Two Officials Voted Against the Rate Cut
Two Fed officials broke their silence Friday, explaining why they dissented from Wednesday’s rate cut. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid both preferred to hold rates steady. Their reasoning? Inflation progress has stalled, and more data is needed before easing further.
“Waiting to take this matter up in the new year would not have entailed much additional risk,” Goolsbee said. Inflation has shown zero progress for six months, and businesses cite prices as their primary concern.
Schmid was more direct. With “inflation too hot” and the economy showing momentum, policy doesn’t appear restrictive enough.
This marked the first three-dissent Fed meeting since 2019. The unusual split reveals the difficult balancing act ahead: supporting a cooling labor market without reigniting inflation. For markets, it signals fewer rate cuts may be coming in 2026 than previously expected.
AI Boom Becomes Trump’s Economic Double-Edged Sword
The artificial intelligence surge propping up economic growth is becoming a political liability for President Trump ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The administration touts AI as essential to outpacing China and driving stock market gains. But voters are pushing back. Two concerns dominate: rising energy bills from power-hungry data centers and fears of widespread job losses.
The tension reveals an uncomfortable truth. Economic growth increasingly depends on AI investment, creating what analysts call a “lopsided” expansion. Tech companies are racing to build infrastructure, but the benefits flow unevenly across the economy.
For financial markets, AI has proven a double-edged sword. It’s driven significant wealth creation through tech stocks. Yet bubble concerns have repeatedly emerged, wiping trillions in market value during selloffs.
The political challenge: how to maintain an AI advantage without alienating middle-class voters bearing the costs.
The Financial System Isn’t Safer — And You Know It As risks mount, see why gold and silver are projected to keep shining in 2026 and beyond.
