April 2026 - Precious Metal Market News

Gold Holds Steady

It's been a largely stable month for Gold. A large jump from a low of £3,352.17 to a high of £3,594.12 rounded out the end of March into the 1st April however, this was met with a swift correction, with the precious metal dropping to £3,516.66 on April 2nd. From then on, gold sat between approximately £3,490 and £3,565 for the majority of the month, with brief breach of the £3,600 mark on the 8th. Things then closed out with a slight jump, after the US Federal Reserve rate decision, with gold on £3,401.49 per ounce.

There's been much talk around the causes of gold's "slump", with most fingers pointing towards the situation in Iran and the bullish push for short-term profits through oil and other affected commodities, rather than long-term protection. Essentially, it appears traders are currently "calling the bluff" of ceasefires and peace talks, and are expecting the conflict to continue for the foreseeable future.

It's not all be doom and gloom, though. Whilst some financial institutions rush to re-write their gold forecasts for the year, other prominent figures are backing their earlier forecasts, with the overarching feeling that it's not a matter of if gold's rally will return, but rather when.

Turbulent Times Ahead for Silver?

Silver experienced volatility throughout the month of April, going from £56.94 on the 1st to £53.55 on the 2nd, a drop of 5.95%. It then experienced a slow climb throughout the second and third weeks of April, hitting a high of £60.36 per troy ounce on Friday, 17th April before corrections took place, finally ending the month at £54.29.

The climb in mid-April was somewhat of a detachment from gold's performance in the month, with multiple stories coming to light of potential supply chain struggles in the near-future. Following their cancellation of silver exports in March, China continued purchasing silver at record levels, signalling a preparation for the future and an attempt to ensure protection for their growing industrial markets such as EV (electric vehicle) production.

It has also been reported that China, the world's top exporter of sulphuric acid with over 4.6 million metric tonnes shipped in 2025 alone, will be halting exports effective May 1, 2026. Whilst this may not look like a precious metal issue on the outside, this has huge repercussions for copper and nickel mining and in particular, the process known as "heap leaching". This in turn will potentially impact global silver supply, as it is primarily sourced (70-80%) as a byproduct of base metal mining.

Platinum Under Pressure

Whilst following the general month-start and finish trends as gold and silver, platinum saw increased gains through the middle weeks of the month, going from £1,483.03 on the 1st April, to a high of £1,587.83 on the 16th. Things then calmed down and as with gold and silver, corrections took place, with platinum rounding out the month at £1,459.68 per troy ounce.

Reports of lessened demand and falling exchange stocks push the platinum market into surplus, whilst high prices paired falling forecasts give a view of slower market growth for the precious metal, with investors and industry potentially looking elsewhere.

More of the Same for May?

After it felt like April flew by with little movement to show for it, will things on the geopolitical stage calm down for May and allow precious metals to prosper? 

There's no way to know for sure however, as always we recommend keeping your eye on the markets and price charts to make informed decisions, and we look forward forward to reporting back next month.

Interested in more blogs? Check out our full range of articles including the Beginners Guide to Gold and Sovereign Guide.