Gold and silver recently reached new all-time high prices, hitting $4,523 and $72.5 per ounce, respectively. Since the start of the year, the gold price has risen by 70%, while silver is up an eye-watering 147%.
In this time period, the two precious metals have handily outperformed both the U.S. stock market (the S&P 500 is up 16.9% year-to-date) and crypto (Bitcoin has dropped by 8.3% this year).
The disparity between the performances of gold and Bitcoin this year is especially interesting, since it shows that the “digital gold” narrative many crypto investors have been trying to attach to Bitcoin is premature at best and misguided at worst. For now, investors have consistently retreated from Bitcoin during times of heightened volatility and uncertainty in global markets, while gold has been thriving in such an environment.
What caused the prices of gold and silver to skyrocket?
The tremendous growth displayed by precious metals this year has been driven by a mix of geopolitical tensions, interest rate cuts and protectionist economic policies championed by Donald Trump.
While these factors have been persistent all year, the immediate catalyst that drove the recent rise to new all-time highs appears to be rising tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. In addition, Donald Trump could name a new U.S. Federal reserve chair as soon as January 2026, which will increase the likelihood of further interest rate cuts and lead to a more bullish gold price forecast.
Meanwhile, silver has also been benefiting from industrial demand originating from sectors such as solar power, EVs and electronics. According to the Silver Institute, 2025 will be the fifth consecutive year where demand for silver exceeds the supply. This structural supply deficit has been an important tailwind allowing silver to outperform gold, as silver has greatly benefited from both strong industrial demand and investor demand for “safe haven” assets.
Although the two precious metals have already delivered exceptional gains, there are good reasons to believe that they could extend their momentum into 2026.
Gold price targets for 2026: $5,000 per ounce is a very real possibility in 2026
Analysts at investment bank Goldman Sachs expect gold to hit $4,900 per ounce by the end of 2026, which would be about 9.2% higher than the current price of gold. Their forecast is primarily based on expectations of continued interest rate cuts and strong demand for gold coming from central banks.
Lower interest rates are beneficial for gold because they reduce the opportunity cost of holding it. The lower interest rates are, the easier it is for investors to overlook the fact that gold isn’t a income-generating asset and focus on its advantages instead.
Goldman Sachs analysts also highlighted that central banks are no longer buying gold only during times of crisis, but are shifting their approach to the precious metal by steadily and persistently adding gold to their reserves.
In November, the bank polled over 900 institutional investors that are customers of its Marquee platform, asking them about their gold price targets. 36% of respondents said they think gold will reach $5,000 per ounce in 2026. Meanwhile, 33% of respondents had a more conservative target of between $4,500 and $5,000.
Those with a pessimistic outlook on gold were much rarer. Only 5% of the survey respondents thought that gold would drop to $3,500 – $4,000 in 2026.
Analysts at JPMorgan Commodities Research are also bullish on gold, forecasting that it could reach as high as $5,055 by the end of 2026 and $5,400 by the end of 2027.
Gregory Shearer, the head of base and precious metals strategy at JPMorgan, said gold also has a realistic path towards $6,000:
“We have laid out a scenario where if diversification of just 0.5% of foreign U.S. asset holdings into gold took place, it would be enough new demand to drive prices to $6,000/oz. With gold mine supply relatively inelastic and slow to respond to these higher prices and demand expected to remain robust, risk continues to skew toward reaching this multi-year target much quicker than expected.”
Heightened demand for silver is poised to persist in 2026
According to the Silver Institute, Silver demand is being driven primarily by its essential use in industrial and technology applications, reflecting its superior electrical and thermal conductivity.
Key sources of growing demand include solar photovoltaics, where expanding renewable energy targets support large-scale installations. This includes electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, which require significantly more silver than conventional vehicles, as well as and data centers and artificial intelligence, where rapid digitalization increases demand for computing hardware and power infrastructure.
Together, these sectors position silver as a critical material for the global energy transition and digital economy through 2030.
On the supply side, interruptions in mining activity and already limited silver inventories are contributing to sizable market shortfalls, putting upward pressure on the silver price. At the same time, the prospect of U.S. interest rate cuts and a weaker U.S. dollar is likely to sustain speculative interest in silver, while any escalation in geopolitical tensions could further boost demand for silver as a safe-haven asset.
Source:: Gold and Silver Reach New All-Time Highs, and Their Momentum Could Extend into 2026