New York, January 27, 2026, 01:41 (EST)
- Silver stalled just below $108, having earlier hit a record $117.69; it’s surged 53% year to date.
- Gold slipped to around $5,060 following a record peak at $5,110.50 the previous day.
- Analysts pointed to tariff threats, a weaker dollar, and strong buying activity in Asia, but cautioned the rally might hit some turbulence.
Silver hovered close to record levels on Tuesday, just shy of $117.69 an ounce reached the day before. Gold remained steady above $5,000 as investors snapped up precious metals ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting. Reuters
The moves matter because they aren’t just hitting chart milestones. Silver has surged past $100, and gold has smashed through $5,100, forcing industrial users, miners, and investors who rely on these metals as crisis hedges to rethink their strategies.
Silver has surged ahead of gold, sparking fresh debate about the forces behind its demand. Barron’s highlighted silver’s growing role in AI technology infrastructure and its wider industrial applications. Yet, some investors caution the sharp rally is edging toward bubble territory.
Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said, “Trump’s disruptive policy approach this year is playing into the hands of precious metals as a defensive play.” He highlighted threats of higher tariffs on Canada and South Korea as factors sustaining gold’s appeal.
The same factors are pressuring the dollar, which typically boosts commodities priced in it. Waterer pointed to U.S.-Japan moves to stabilize the yen. Reuters noted that markets are focused on a potential U.S. government shutdown and rising tensions over Fed leadership as the central bank convenes.
Silver’s recent surge isn’t just about macroeconomic jitters. “There’s immense silver demand, in a way that we’ve really not seen before,” MKS PAMP SA Chief Executive Officer James Emmett told Bloomberg News, pointing to a squeeze between strong physical buying and a spike in short-term speculation in what he called a “relatively illiquid” market. Bloomberg
Business Insider noted that this rally is happening despite some Wall Street indicators cooling off, with Comex futures and exchange-traded funds (ETFs — funds that track the metal and trade like a stock) showing net selling. Ole Hansen, Saxo Bank’s head of commodity strategy, pointed out that relentless buying from China has driven Shanghai prices to a record premium, now more than $14 above London benchmarks. Business Insider
The premium matters because it acts as a magnet. When Shanghai prices climb well above those in London and New York, it signals to traders abroad that China’s physical demand is strong enough to justify paying extra, drawing both metal — and money — into the trade.
Borrowing costs are reflecting the physical shortage as well. BMI Research pointed out that the implied lease rate—essentially the cost to borrow physical silver—remains close to 3%, a figure that would typically hover near zero in a market with ample supply.
Silver is starting to look pricey compared to gold, according to a common metric. BMI highlighted the gold-to-silver ratio — the number of silver ounces needed to buy one ounce of gold — currently at a four-year low. The firm also noted that recent gains have been driven by speculative buying.
Spot platinum slipped after reaching a record high the day before, while palladium also pulled back, Reuters reported.
Yet the rally feels fragile. Hansen flagged potential profit-taking before China’s Lunar New Year break, with the Shanghai Futures Exchange closing from February 16–23. BMI also pointed out that industrial demand tends to falter once prices climb too high.
Gold’s outlook remains strong, pulling silver up with it. The metal surged 64% in 2025, marking its largest annual jump since 1979. Philip Newman, a director at Metals Focus, warned that “periodic pullbacks are likely,” but he sees any dips as short-lived and quickly snapped up by buyers. Kyle Rodda from Capital.com linked the recent rally to a “crisis of confidence” hitting U.S. assets. Reuters
