(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are higher, with silver strongly up, and hit new record highs in early U.S. trading Friday. More safe-haven demand and bullish technical charts are fueling the two metals. February gold was last up $53.50 at $4,557.40 after hitting a new high of $4,562.70 overnight. March silver prices were up $3.01 at $74.675 and hit a new high of $75.84 overnight.
Platinum prices also jumped to all-time highs overnight, to extend a historic end-of-year rally for precious metals, with support from safe-haven buying amid escalating geopolitical tensions and recent U.S. dollar weakness. Frictions in Venezuela, where the U.S. has blockaded oil tankers and ramped up pressure on the government of Nicolás Maduro, have added to the precious metal’s haven appeal. Washington also launched a military strike against Islamic State in Nigeria on Thursday, in collaboration with the African nation’s government.
The value of China's UBS SDIC Silver Futures Fund LOF plunged by its maximum daily limit of 10% on Thursday. The fund's manager had issued warnings that the fund's high premium over the value of its underlying assets posed a danger of steep losses should silver futures reverse.
UBS SDIC Fund Management Co tightened the rules on new subscriptions to Class C shares, limiting them to 100 yuan from Dec 26, down from 500 yuan.
Copper surged to a record high in Shanghai and rallied in New York, adding to substantial annual gains as investors bet on tighter global supplies in 2026. Copper prices gained as much as 3.7% to near 100,000 yuan a ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange and rose almost 4% to $5.7855 a pound on the Comex. Metals have made big gains in December, with copper expected to be a major beneficiary of the world’s energy transition, and prices received an additional lift from a slump in the U.S. dollar.
U.S. strikes ISIS targets in Nigeria. The U.S. launched a military strike in Nigeria against Islamic State targets in a security and intelligence collaboration with the African nation's government. President Trump said he directed American forces to carry out "a powerful and deadly strike" against ISIS, and Nigeria's foreign affairs ministry confirmed the "precision hits on terrorist targets," Bloomberg reported. The attack came "at the request of Nigerian authorities" and killed "multiple ISIS terrorists", according to U.S. Africa Command, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatening "more to come" if the group does not stop going after "innocent Christians in Nigeria."
Upbeat Zelenskiy to meet with Trump soon on peace deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he plans to meet President Trump “in the coming days,” signaling optimism about reaching a peace deal to end Russia’s almost four-year war. Separately, the Kremlin said its representatives had made contact with the U.S. at President Putin’s direction. “A lot could be decided before the New Year,” Zelenskiy said today in a Telegram and X post after receiving an update from Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s top negotiator with the U.S. and head of the National Defense and Security Council, Bloomberg reported. Kyiv and Washington are seeking to align on a 20-point peace plan to present to Putin, including the provision of strong security guarantees modeled on NATO’s Article 5, and a global post-war development program for Ukraine. While the allies have agreed on most items, several issues remain unresolved, including Ukraine’s opposition to territorial concessions in the eastern region of Donetsk.
The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index near steady. Crude oil prices are near steady and trading around $58.50 a barrel. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is presently 4.118%.
Note: The gold market operates through two primary pricing mechanisms. The first is the spot market, which quotes prices for on-the-spot purchase and immediate delivery. The second is the futures market, which sets prices for delivery at a future date. Due to year-end positioning market liquidity, the December gold futures contract is currently the most actively traded on the CME.
Technically, February gold futures bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at $4,600.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $4,300.00. First resistance is seen at the overnight record high of $4,562.70 and then at $4,575.00. First support is seen at the overnight low of $4,518.00 and then at $4,500.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 9.5.
March silver futures bulls’ next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $80.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $70.00. First resistance is seen at the overnight record high of $75.84 and then at $76.00. Next support is seen at the overnight low of $72.72 and then at $71.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 9.5.
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