Andrey Litvinov

The price surge in precious metals during 2025 did not simply lift gold and silver to new highs; it fundamentally changed how people in different countries interact with these metals. What is striking is not just the scale of the rally, but the consistency of one outcome across very different markets: jewellery is losing ground to bars and coins. Yet this shift is not driven by a single global logic. Instead, it reflects a mosaic of national circumstances—tourism flows, tax systems, inflation histories, currency weakness, and deeply rooted cultural habits—that together are reshaping physical demand.

Gold’s surge in 2025 has challenged the traditional assumption that sharp price gains must be followed by deep corrections. Prices posted their strongest annual jump since the 1979 oil crisis and doubled over the past two years, reaching a record near $4,380 per troy ounce in October after never having traded above $3,000 before March. In previous cycles, such a move would almost automatically have triggered expectations of a collapse. Instead, analysts at JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Metals Focus increasingly argue that gold is entering a structurally higher price regime, with levels around $5,000 per ounce in 2026 now seen as plausible rather than extreme.

Silver’s surge to a new all-time high of around 67 dollars per ounce in December 18 marks one of the most striking commodity stories of 2025. After spending much of the past decade trapped in a narrow range between 15 and 25 dollars, the metal more than doubled in value within a single year. This breakout did not unfold gradually.