{"id":65360,"date":"2025-10-09T02:00:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T07:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tradestation.com\/insights\/?p=65360"},"modified":"2025-10-09T06:56:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T11:56:15","slug":"metals-trading-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tradestation.com\/insights\/2025\/10\/09\/metals-trading-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Things to Know as Gold and Silver Hit New Highs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gold is having its best year since Jimmy Carter was in office and silver has its biggest gain since the Global Financial Crisis. Today we’ll consider some key products associated with the trend as metals enter the homestretch of 2025.<\/p>\n

This table shows the year-to-date performance of key assets like gold, silver and equity products like the S&P 500 and tech stocks. It shows a clear outperformance in metals, despite a big rally in AI stocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Asset<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nYTD %<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Silver<\/td>\n+69%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gold<\/td>\n+54%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Technology<\/td>\n+25%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
S&P 500<\/td>\n+15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Source: TradeStation data<\/em><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

At least four catalysts have been driving the move:<\/p>\n

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  1. Central bank buying:<\/span> Central banks started acquiring bullion aggressively in 2022, according to the World Gold Council. That drove prices to new highs by March 2024, establishing an uptrend that’s accelerated since. The buying has continued this year.<\/li>\n
  2. A falling U.S. dollar:<\/span> The greenback started 2025 at a 27-month high. It slid sharply in the first half, and this month touched its lowest level in more than three years. Because metals are priced in fiat currencies, a weak dollar often boosts the nominal price of gold and silver.<\/li>\n
  3. Trade and political uncertainty:<\/span> President Trump announced higher-than-expected tariffs in April, and has continued to impose new import duties since. Investors face additional uncertainty with the U.S. Supreme Court hearing a case to potentially overturn some of the tariffs. Oral arguments are scheduled for November 5<\/span>, with a decision likely the first half of 2026. The ongoing government shutdown adds to the uncertainty.<\/li>\n
  4. Interest-rate cuts:<\/span> The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points on September 17, its first reduction since December. CME’s FedWatch tool shows the market expects another 75 basis points of easing by March 2026.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Stocks vs Gold<\/h2>\n

    While it may feel like the rally in gold is sudden, the trend has been taking shape for years. The chart below uses TradeStation’s advanced charting to compare the price of the S&P 500 stock index against the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), which tracks the metal’s price.<\/p>\n

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    Price ratio of the S&P 500 to the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), weekly chart, with key events marked.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

    Notice how the S&P 500 started appreciating relative to gold in October 2011. (That’s when stocks began their recovery from the subprime crisis, followed 1-1\/2 years later by a breakout to new highs.) Gold lagged stocks in the following decade, which might be surprising because interest rates were super low. However, there was little political uncertainty and global central banks weren’t active buyers. That was even true during the chaos of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

    Things changed in early 2022 when the U.S. placed heavy sanctions on Russia and the Fed started hiking interest rates. Gold and stocks both fell in absolute terms, but stocks fell more. The next big event was February 2024, when gold crossed $2,000 for the first time and its rally hasn’t paused since. (Yesterday it crossed $4,000 for the first time.) This year’s percentage change is the highest since 1979.<\/p>\n

    Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium<\/h2>\n

    Gold led the charge in the first phase of the rally, but recent months have seen investors seeking opportunities in other metals.<\/p>\n