Spot gold prices exceeded the $4100 mark for the first time. At the peak, the cost of the precious metal added more than 2% and rose to $4103.9.

Silver prices have crossed the $52 mark: the precious metal is at its highest level in decades, Bloomberg claims. Its quotations are driven upward also by concerns about insufficient liquidity at the exchange in London, the agency says.

The cost of platinum and palladium also jumped amid signals that growing investor demand is starting to spread to other precious metals, it added.

What's the matter

Four major precious metals have risen in price by 55-80% this year, with gold's surge supported by demand from central banks, its growing share in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bloomberg reported. Demand for protective assets was additionally strengthened by the new aggravation of trade relations between the U.S. and China, threats to the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the U.S. government shutdown, the agency said.

Late last week, US President Donald Trump threatened 100% additional duties on imports from China - in response to Beijing's decision to expand its control over the supply of rare earth materials critical to global industry.

"At exactly the moment when geopolitical and trade risks started to weaken the tailwind for gold, we got this escalation of tensions between the U.S. and China," Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said as quoted by Bloomberg. Despite both sides being open to negotiations, he said, "trade volatility may subside, but it never completely disappears." "And that's a very good thing for gold," Rodda added.

On Sunday, Trump urged "don't worry" about China, and investors apparently listened: the three major U.S. stock indexes rose in trading on October 13, partially recouping losses suffered on Friday, October 10. It was the worst day for the U.S. stock market since April.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor

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