2025 Economic Round Up - Ending the Year with a Flourish

2025 Economic Round-Up

If we gave you one word to describe 2025 on the global scale, it’s not likely to be something so positive: turbulent, chaotic, uncertain?

There is no doubt in anybody’s mind that the past year has definitely been rockier than many of us would like however, they do say every cloud has a silver lining.

Whilst the world has been unsettled across numerous angles; from invasions and war, the rise of AI, tariffs and more, the precious metal safe haven has flourished as many turn its way to protect their funds.

Each of the precious metal ‘big three’ hit all-time highs in 2025. Gold hit the headlines time and time again, with both silver and platinum ending the year with a surge.

With the year now drawn to a close, read on to find how the metals performed and what are some of the driving factors behind the unprecedented market shifts of 2025.

Gold Retains the Safe Haven Title

The Numbers: (obtained from The Royal Mint) 

Gold Price: 1st January 2025 - £2,103.32

Gold Price: 1st January 2026 - £3,209.16

Increase of: 52.58%

Peak Price: £3,405.90

Gold saw an initial bump to start 2025, largely brought on by the second inauguration of Donald Trump, along with the tariffs and tensions between the US and EU that subsequently followed. Things then quietened down somewhat, and when taking a higher-level view, gold actually stayed relatively steady between March and September.

However, rising tensions revolving around global conflict led to a sudden change in October, with both investor diversification and central bank purchasing driving the gold price through multiple all-time highs. Many eyes were on China's activity during the next few months, with considerable sources alluding to China's under-reporting of their gold purchases as they looked to reduce the country's exposure to the US dollar.

Federal Reserve interest-rate drops, a weakening US dollar and new conflict, now featuring the US and Venezuela, rounded out the year with investors flocking to precious metals in any and every way they could.

Both during and following the year, multiple financial institutions have been forecasting another strong performance for 2026, with gold estimated to breach the $5,000 (£3,713) mark.

Silver Squeezes the Ratio

The Numbers: (obtained from The Royal Mint) 

Silver Price: 1st January 2025 - £23.19

Silver Price: 1st January 2026 - £53.29

Increase of: 129.80%

Peak Price: £60.63

Somewhat mirroring gold's year, silver saw a largely stable 2025 up until August.

What then followed caught many by surprise as silver exploded for the second half of the year. With silver's position as an industrial stalwart, and the rise of green technologies, especially in the cases of solar and EVs (electric vehicles), the supply lines struggled to meet the growing demand. The majority of the global silver output is actually as a by-product from the mining and extraction of other metals such as copper, lead and gold which causes complications when additional demand rises, with high costs related to any solutions for both the short-term and the long-term.

Silver then rounded out the year with a final flourish and an all-time high, with China announcing that it will apply severe export controls on its rare minerals, including silver.

Towards the end of 2025 and due to the additional market demand, silver started detaching itself from gold, with the silver:gold ratio hitting around 60:1, an approximate increase of 51%.

Platinum Plumes from its Cousin's Shadow

The Numbers: (obtained from The Royal Mint) 

Platinum Price: 1st January 2025 - £740.13

Platinum Price: 1st January 2026 - £1,541.02

Increase of: 109.21%

Peak Price: £1,842.01

Under the radar for many, platinum had multiple notable jumps within the year not least in December, hitting a high of over double its initial price for 2025.

Many suspect platinum to be taking the place of the 'next gold'. With gold's price now rising past a level of affordability for some, investors have started looking towards platinum with the hopes that it is next in line for a surge.

Outlook for 2026 and beyond

Nothing in life is certain, however, as the geopolitical landscape continues to heat up, there looks to be no end in sight for the rise in precious metal valuations. Multiple financial institutions were already touting 2026 to be a big year for the market even before the late-year flourish, with many now doubling down and indicating growth that would outperform some of the most popular stock on the planet.

We anticipate another busy year at Chards and look forward to once again giving it our all, providing the best service possible to our loyal customers.