Gold (GC=F), silver (SI=F) and copper (HG=F) hit new highs on Wednesday, extending an explosive rally to mark the first two weeks of January.
Gold futures (GC=F) hit a high of $4,650 per troy ounce, a 5% year-to-date gain. Wall Street analysts have raised their forecasts in recent days due to the recent US intervention in Venezuela, geopolitical tensions with Iran and growing questions about the independence of the Federal Reserve.
“We expect gold bullion to reach $5,000 per ounce in the coming months amid demand for hedging arising from current macroeconomic, political and geopolitical concerns,” Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, CIO Americas and global head of equities at UBS Global Wealth Management, said on Wednesday.
“While we note the downside risks given the current high premium, the gold price could also rise higher than expected to USD 5,400/ounce if political or financial risks increase,” she added.
His outlook mirrors that of analysts at Citi, who said earlier this week that gold could hit $5,000 in the next three months, while silver could hit $100 an ounce.
Silver traded above $91 an ounce on Wednesday, pushing its total market value above $5 trillion for the first time.
The massive rise in metals underscores an unfolding metals war as countries scramble to secure critical resources and compete in the accelerating AI race.
Supply shortfall concerns, recent Chinese export curbs and reduced short positions have sent silver up 20% year-to-date, adding to its nearly 150% rally in 2025.
Saxo Bank’s Ole Sloth Hansen notes that technical signals for the metal are “overbought” but that the cycle has been “supercharged by something deeper: growing unease over fiscal discipline, monetary credibility and financial stability.”
Hansen pointed out that silver is a monetary and industrial metal, “benefiting from the same fear-based demand that drives gold,” but with exposure to the electrification, solar and electronics industries.
“This dual identity is what makes the all-star alignment so explosive,” Hansen wrote in a memo Wednesday.
Copper also hit all-time highs on Wednesday, hitting more than $6 a pound in the United States, or more than $13,000 a ton in London, as concerns over a possible tariff decision on imports from the Trump administration caused shipments to the United States to accelerate in recent months, tightening global supplies.
Goldman Sachs has warned of a pushback as analysts expect that ultimately a tariff decision on refined copper will be delayed or not implemented at all.
