For comparison — in 2025, silver rose by 141%, and from the start of 2026 it climbed another 65%, setting a new record above $117 per ounce. Platinum and palladium also hit historical highs. The gold rush proved contagious across the entire group of precious metals.
Who’s shaking up the market
The short answer is: central banks. It’s not retail investors who are panicking, but institutions that buy “for the long term” and are least affected by day-to-day price swings. China is one of the main characters in this story: in June 2026, the country purchased a record 173 tonnes of gold — the highest in the last two years. The motive is clear: reducing dependence on dollar-denominated assets, especially against the backdrop of sanctions-related precedents in recent years.
The Wall Street Journal compiled five reasons for the rally, and the top one sounds worrying: investors are losing confidence in the dollar and other key currencies due to governments’ inability to contain inflation and the growing public debt. Add to that the Federal Reserve’s rate cut, a pricey, overheated stock market (the price-to-earnings ratio in the tech sector reached the level of the year 2000 — yes, the one right before the dot-com crash) — and you get the perfect storm for a safe-haven asset.
Who’s shaking up the market
The short answer is: central banks. It’s not retail investors who are panicking, but institutions that buy “for the long term” and are least affected by day-to-day price swings. China is one of the main characters in this story: in June 2026, the country purchased a record 173 tonnes of gold — the highest in the last two years. The motive is clear: reducing dependence on dollar-denominated assets, especially against the backdrop of sanctions-related precedents in recent years.
The Wall Street Journal compiled five reasons for the rally, and the top one sounds worrying: investors are losing confidence in the dollar and other key currencies due to governments’ inability to contain inflation and the growing public debt. Add to that the Federal Reserve’s rate cut, a pricey, overheated stock market (the price-to-earnings ratio in the tech sector reached the level of the year 2000 — yes, the one right before the dot-com crash) — and you get the perfect storm for a safe-haven asset.