What’s taking place with gold, silver and copper? A chief funding officer on why costs have soared and what may occur subsequent

In recent weeks, the price of gold, silver and copper have all been on the rise.

Tom Becket, co-chief investment officer at Canaccord Wealth, explains what the future holds for the three metals. 

Today we have seen gold soar to new highs, as Donald Trump’s dogged pursuit of Greenland and threats of tariffs against European nations that oppose him cause ripples of consternation in the markets. 

Gold has risen by 2.1 per cent to $4,690 a troy ounce and silver markets have climbed 4.4 per cent as investors surge to safe haven assets. 

This is the cherry on top of the burgeoning prices we have seen in commodity prices in recent months, and we are seeing similar patterns in copper and platinum too. So, what’s happening? 

As the geopolitical situation and macro environment are looking shaky, investors are moving to hedge against macro events like inflation and interest rate decisions by diversifying their portfolios and broadening their allocation to safe haven assets like commodities. 

But it’s not just a response to the geopolitical environment – there is also strong structural demand for metals in sectors like technology and manufacturing, as they become a precipitator to economic growth.

There is also the factor of Chinese Government behaviour influencing investors. 

The Chinese have been buying industrial quantities of gold in the last decade in a bid to move away from a reliance on the US dollar and also as part of an asset allocation switch away from US Treasuries. 

When Treasuries are maturing, the Chinese haven’t been adding to their allocation, but diversifying into a range of assets including precious metals.

Here we look at gold, silver and copper:

Gold hitting record highs

Gold has today hit a fresh all-time high of $4,690 a troy ounce, following the previous high on Boxing Day of US $4,500 per troy ounce – gold rose over 50 per cent in 2025. 

The rally in many non-fiat assets (assets not issued by governments) has accelerated because they are safe haven assets that investors flock to in times of uncertainty or instability.

Copper prices climbing

Copper prices spiked earlier this month and have been rising due to a combination of cyclical and structural factors. 

In the short term, there is growing optimism that economic outcomes in 2026 might be stronger than previously expected, as reflected in equity markets’ shape and performance over the last six months. 

And copper’s intensive use in some of the economy’s hot spots, such as technology development, electric cars and green energy are positive supports.

Silver price boomed by central banks

Silver has been rising due to central bank buying, industrial demand (especially in areas like solar energy, electric cars and AI) and intense speculation. 

In recent times it has been the last of these that has fuelled a frenzy in silver and associated investments, as the gargantuan gains enjoyed through this turbulent year have attracted retail investors, alongside institutional and trend-following investors, hoping to enjoy some of the shine that silver has provided in the last few months.  

Recent moves by the Chinese authorities to limit silver exports have added to the excitement and surging volatility.

What happens next to prices? 

This all comes at a time when many commodities are trading at relatively low prices and allocations towards the asset class are at historically low levels. 

We maintain an allocation to broad commodities in portfolios and also as an uncorrelated source of return, a diversifier and useful inflation protection.

Long term we remain optimistic on the prospects for gold and silver, but believe that speculation is probably over cooked and the short-term outlook for further gains are limited. 

The meteoric rise in both gold and silver might be getting to a point where it’s overdone, whilst gains in some of the silver companies, such as London listed Mexican miner Fresnillo is up close to 450 per cent in the last year.

A key reason we are more optimistic on the outlook for broad commodities in 2026 is that we expect the Chinese to add further to stockpiles of industrial commodities and oil, all of which they need to continue their economic development, and of which prices are at extraordinarily low relative prices to a la mode gold and silver.