May 2026 - Precious Metal Market News

Gold Sees Central Bank Movement

There was growing optimism at the start of May, as news of peace talks between the US and Iran grew, gold's price saw a jump at the tail-end of the first week of the month, from a low of £3,365.73 to a high of £3,484.17, followed by a monthly peak on the 12th with the metal breaching the £3,500 mark at £3,502.87.

However, and somewhat mirroring the behaviour seen in March and April, things took a downward turn, culminating with the White House rubbishing talks of a peace deal nearing ^[C1], with military action seen from both sides throughout the second half of the month. Gold went on-to see three drops for May, hitting £3,406.07 on the 15th, £3,344.75 on the 20th and finally a short-lived drop to £3,273.48 on the 28th, before rebounding to £3,383.69 on the 29th and holding out for the end of the month.

All in all, gold saw a minimal change of -£2.065 (-0.06%) for the month of May, and when zooming out for a bigger picture, the precious metal is still up +£158.77 (+4.94%) per troy ounce across 6 months and +£930.50 (+38.07%) over 12 months.

At risk of sounding like a broken record, gold still shows signs of a bullish market laying in wait. Whilst speculative and short-term investors have moved to liquidate, central banks are buying the metal at record-breaking rates, with China showing a notable rise in gold reserves. ^[C2]

Elsewhere, interest in digital gold continues, with the World Gold Council announcing that they will be developing a shared infrastructure for digital gold. ^[C3]

China Has Big Plans For Silver

Silver saw a more gradual rise than gold through the early weeks of May, starting the month at £53.69 per troy ounce, there was a steady rise through the first two weeks of the month before hitting a high of £65.07. Likewise with gold though, things took a turn on the 15th May, with the metal's price initially dropping to £57.90 before further lows of £55.32 on the 20th and £54.46 on the 28th of May, before rebounding to £56.48.

Despite the harsh mid-month drops, silver saw growth in May, gaining +£2.616 (+4.87%) for the month. When looking at the broader landscape, the precious metal is up +£13.02 (+30.16%) per troy ounce across 6 months and +£31.68 (+129.26%) over 12 months.

As the world continues to move towards greener energy and vehicles, the industry behind it continues to stockpile, with China leading the pack ^[C4] sustaining an eight-year high of silver imports in 2026. Although, HSBC suggest softer industrial demand could be in the pipeline, despite raising their forecasts for 2026 and 2027. ^[C5]

What To Expect For June?

Well, it's feeling a little bit like Groundhog Day, where once again, everything looks to be pointing towards when the metals market will resume its rally, rather than if it will resume.

Whilst we all watch with bated breath to see the conclusion of the US/Iran conflict, it looks as though our friends across the pond may already have their next dispute lined up, as they put the building blocks in place for an invasion of Cuba. ^[C6]

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

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