According to the source, the price of gold reached its all-time high of $4379.13 per ounce in early trading on October 17, 2025. This happened against the backdrop of escalating trade relations between the U.S. and China, when China expanded restrictions on the export of rare earth elements, and U.S. President Donald Trump responded by threatening 100 percent duties on Chinese goods.
On the same day, October 17, silver closed at $50.13 per ounce. Thus, the multi-year record of $48.70, which had been held since January 1980, was overcome.
Palladium did not lag behind the general trend. The historical record of $3440.76 per ounce, reached in March 2022, was not broken. But the futures for the metal did reach a two-year high.
Platinum was also in high demand in October 2025, but peaked at $2276 an ounce on March 4, 2008, during the global financial crisis.
What are metals reacting to?
Gold: a classic protective asset
The price of gold reacts to the geopolitical situation, inflation, interest rates and the US dollar. Geopolitical risks and inflation usually increase the value of gold as a protective asset, while a strong dollar and high interest rates make it less attractive.
Silver: a dynamic metal linked to bigtech
Silver is traditionally more volatile than gold because the silver market is smaller, but in general both metals tend to move in sync. Silver reacts to rate and inflation changes in the same way as gold, but in addition is highly sensitive to industrial demand and global fluctuations. The white metal is linked to technology companies because it is in demand for chips, touch screens, solar panels and medical devices.
Platinum: sensitive to industrial cycles
Platinum behaves in much the same way as silver, but it is closely tied to the automotive and energy industries. In addition, as a large proportion of platinum is mined in South Africa, events in that country may also influence the price.
Palladium: a tool for momentum strategies
Palladium remains one of the most volatile metals, and news from its producing countries – South Africa and Russia – is particularly important for trend tracking. The volatility of the palladium price makes palladium futures an attractive tool for strategies based on rapid market movements.
Features of futures:
Convenience: low entry threshold (a guarantee collateral – a part of the full value of the contract – is sufficient to open a position), flexibility of strategies (both long and short positions can be opened) and liquidity, especially in the case of gold and silver futures.
Hedging inflation risks: precious metals are also steadily becoming more expensive during price rises.
Diversification: precious metal futures are loosely correlated with other asset classes such as stocks and bonds and will help balance a portfolio when markets fall.
Diversity of strategies: futures on various metals are suitable for both short and long term strategies and can be shorted.
Weekend trading: since August 2025, the Moscow Exchange has launched trading in precious metals futures (and other derivatives market instruments) seven days a week. This is an opportunity to react promptly to international news without waiting for the opening of the main session.
What to watch out for
No guarantee of income: unlike stocks or bonds, which generate dividends or interest payments, investments in metals generate income only if the price of the asset changes in the direction of your position.
Marketvolatility: precious metals, especially silver and palladium, are extremely volatile, as the price of metals is influenced by a large number of external factors, and it can be more difficult than usual to take them into account when analyzing them before a transaction.
What will happen to precious metals in 2026?
October passed under the sign of increased interest in precious metals, and analysts massively revised their forecasts for 2026.
UBS raised its gold price target for mid-2026 to $4500 per ounce. The previous forecast was $4200. The bank cites steady inflows into exchange-traded investment funds. In addition, global central banks continue to buy gold. HSBC and Bank of America gave even more aggressive estimates. Thus, HSBC considered scenarios of appreciation of an ounce of gold to the level of $5 thousand in the first half of 2026.
Analysts and large institutions also expect silver to grow in 2026. Their arguments are industrial demand from solar energy and electronics, structural supply shortages and “following” the growth of gold. An ounce of silver crossed the important psychological threshold of $50 this year. Later the price fell slightly below that level, but if the threshold is crossed again, a rise to $75 or even $100 per ounce is possible, according to Robert Kiyosaki and analysts of the business publication CNBC.
Analysts also sharply raised their platinum and palladium price forecasts for 2026, citing tight ore supply, uncertainty over U.S. duties and rotating investment demand for gold.
The median forecast published by Reuters suggests the average platinum price in 2026 will be $1550 an ounce, up from the $1272 forecast in a survey three months ago. For palladium, the median forecast was $1262 an ounce, up from the previous $1100.
