Bullion surges as Democrats take control of Congress in the U.S.
Precious metals have rallied after Democrats swept the U.S. midterms / Photo: Tetiana Chernykova / Shutterstock
Precious metals rallied on Wednesday after preliminary results from the U.S. midterm elections. CNBC reports that Democrats will take both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Gold futures jumped 2.9% to $4,044 per ounce. Silver rose 4.7% to above $52 per ounce. Platinum and palladium also posted sizable gains.
What analysts are saying
Gold would get a lift if Democrats took both chambers of Congress, as interest rates and the dollar would likely come under pressure, Rhona O’Connell, head of market analysis for EMEA and Asia at StoneX, said ahead of the elections. She said less fiscal stimulus would help bring down long-term yields and weaken the dollar, while standoffs over the budget and the debt ceiling would add to uncertainty. Expectations of another Fed rate hike could offset some of that support for gold, she noted.
“The challenge for precious metals is that geopolitical uncertainty is not automatically translating into safe-haven demand when investors are also concerned about restrictive monetary policy,” argues Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com. Precious metals could also come under pressure in sharp equity selloffs as investors unwind profitable or liquid positions to raise cash, she added.
Context
Gold and silver hit record highs in 2025, surging 66% and 135%, respectively, as investors sought safe havens amid geopolitical uncertainty and broader market volatility, CNBC reported. That momentum faded this year as rising inflation, a jump in bond yields, and hawkish central banks took away support for precious metals. Gold is down more than 7% year to date, while silver has tumbled about 28%.
How other assets are trading
U.S. stock index futures erased overnight losses and moved solidly higher. An hour and a half before the opening bell, futures on the broad-market S&P 500 were up 0.9%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures had jumped 1.6%. Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 lagged as Democratic criticism of the rapid buildout of data centers weighed on AI stocks.
The dollar posted its steepest drop since September, weakening against major developed-market currencies, Bloomberg reported. Oil prices fell as investors awaited Washington’s next moves in the war against Iran, CNBC reported. Futures on Brent, the global benchmark, were off 1.4% to about $102 per barrel.
