The year 2025 delivered extraordinary performance across the metals complex, with silver leading an unprecedented rally that saw the white metal almost triple in value while gold approached ₹1.4 lakh per 10 grams. What began as a recovery trade evolved into a structural rally driven by safe-haven demand, global monetary easing, and accelerating industrial consumption across renewable energy and technology sectors.

Record-Breaking Performance Across Metals Complex

The metals rally unfolded against themes of renewable energy expansion, trade tariffs, rare earth dynamics, and coordinated policy actions by China and the US that pushed commodities to historic highs. Silver and platinum surged approximately 160%, gold rose nearly 70%, and copper gained around 43%, making 2025 one of the strongest years on record for the metals complex.

Gold dominated headlines with repeated record highs, touching new peaks 52 times during the year. International prices started 2025 near $2,650 per ounce, crossed $3,000 in March, $3,500 in September, and $4,000 by October, before climbing above $4,550 by December. These represented gold's strongest annual gains since 1979.

Silver's Exceptional Rally and Industrial Demand

Silver outperformed even gold, leveraging its dual identity as both a precious metal and critical industrial input. Being a smaller and more volatile market, silver experienced sharper price movements, starting the year near $29 per ounce, rising to $45 by September, crossing $50 in October, and continuing to hit record highs into December.

Samit Guha, Managing Director and CEO at MMTC-PAMP, highlighted rising use in green and new-age technologies including solar power, electric vehicles, and electronics, which tightened supply and lifted long-term demand expectations. Nikunj Saraf, CEO of Choice Wealth, emphasized that silver "stole the spotlight" in 2025, supported by booming industrial demand and tightening global supply.

Platinum and Copper Join the Rally

Platinum broke past its previous record of $2,380 per ounce to reach a new all-time high of $2,500 per ounce, supported by a third consecutive year of supply deficit and strong demand from automotive and investment sectors. The metal is set to end 2025 with its biggest annual gain on record.

Copper, often called "Doctor Copper" for its economic signaling ability, hit record highs across the US, China, London, and India. Gains were driven by US tariff concerns, strong demand, slower output growth in major producing countries like Chile, Peru, and Indonesia, and rising consumption from artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and data center sectors.

Investment Flows and Market Dynamics

In India, precious metals prices received additional support from rupee depreciation throughout the year. Gold began 2025 at around ₹79,700 per 10 grams and climbed to nearly ₹1,40,000 per 10 grams, while Indian silver prices saw heavy investor interest and sharp premiums.

Nehal Mota, Co-Founder and CEO of Finnovate, noted that gold and silver rallied as safe-haven assets amid global uncertainty, with declining interest rates by around 75 basis points in India driving investors toward precious metals for stability. Investment access played a crucial role in broadening participation, with ETFs delivering standout returns even as equity markets experienced repeated volatility.

Outlook and Sustainability Factors

Analysts widely expect the momentum to extend into 2026, though some consolidation appears natural after such massive rallies. The structural factors supporting metals—from renewable energy deployment to monetary policy support—remain intact, suggesting the 2025 performance represents recalibration rather than speculative excess.

UBS has significantly upgraded its gold price outlook, setting a new target of $5,000 per ounce for the first three quarters of 2026. The investment bank announced this revised forecast on Monday, representing a substantial increase from its earlier projection of $4,300 per ounce by end-2026.

Revised Price Targets

The bank's updated gold price projections reflect a more bullish stance on the precious metal's performance over the next few years.

Key Market Drivers

UBS expects gold demand to rise steadily through 2026, supported by several fundamental factors:

• Lower real yields, which typically make non-yielding assets like gold more attractive to investors
• Persistent global economic concerns, supporting safe-haven demand for the precious metal

Policy Uncertainty Impact

U.S. domestic policy uncertainty emerges as a significant factor in UBS's analysis. The bank specifically highlights concerns related to:

• Midterm elections
• Rising fiscal stress

These political and economic uncertainties are expected to drive investors toward gold as a hedge against market volatility.

Risk Scenario Assessment

UBS has also revised its upside price target for gold under stressed market conditions. In scenarios where political or financial risks increase substantially, the bank projects gold prices could climb to $5,400 per ounce, up from its previous crisis scenario target of $4,900 per ounce. This adjustment reflects the bank's assessment of heightened potential for market disruption and the corresponding flight-to-quality dynamics that typically benefit gold.