Bruce Ikemizu

2025 was the year nobody could have foreseen, and I expect similar in 2026. Currencies are losing value rapidly with expansive fiscal policies like in US and Japan for example. Debts are continuously rising and that surely is the main reason the gold against currencies exchange rates move higher. Alongside institutional and individual investors, BRICS+ central banks are losing confidence in USD and moving away to gold in the past 4 years, a trend which would accelerate with Trump's ‘Donroe’ Doctrine. Currency debasement fears are becoming increasingly serious and investors are looking at gold as the real safe haven against such an environment. Gold will be bought more extensively from every quarter. Three most important factors that will move gold in 2026: 1. The continuous move by central banks and investors from USD to Gold due to the multi-polarisation of the world. 2. Debasement of the currency - most governments print money and accumulate debts for the next generations. 3. Unpredictable Trump.

In addition to the political and fiscal conditions which apply to gold, silver has its own reasons to reach much higher levels: supply and demand. It's been more than six years of supply shortages and finally we have seen an extreme move in the liquidity of silver in 2025 which could flare up any time again in 2026 as the lease rate remains at a much higher level than gold. Political moves regarding silver, critical mineral status by the U.S. and export limitation by China add the fuel to the liquidity problem. Since 70% of silver's productions are as biproducts of copper, gold, lead and zinc, supply could not increase dramatically. On the other hand, demand from photovoltaics and other industry applications are increasing day by day. The liquidity problem is getting larger and that only leads to higher silver prices.

As gold moves up, platinum will follow as the spread cannot be wider than its current level which is already too wide - still more than $2,000. As gold price goes up, platinum’s relatively cheaper price becomes more attractive to jewelry manufacturers and investors. China imported about 100 tons out of 170 tons of global production in 2025. GFEX (Guangzhou Futures Exchange) listed platinum and palladium in November 2025 and added new investors to the metals and obviously influenced the PGM market structurally. Automobile industries moving from EV to hybrid cars is also a big push to PGMs.

GFEX has also had a good effect on the palladium price. The wind against EV also helps. Platinum and other PGMs are on the rise, which also supports palladium. Palladium probably will not be as spectacular as other precious metals but will be steady as others go up sharply.