Dec 23 (Reuters) – Silver extended its record rally on Tuesday and hit the key $70 an ounce mark, while gold cut gains after setting an all-time high as stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data sparked a pullback.
Spot silver rose 0.7% at $69.48 per ounce after touching a record high of $70.66 earlier. Prices are up 123% year-to-date.
“At the bottom of this reality of supply and demand in a market that has been in deficit for five years, alongside increasing industrial demand. The safe-haven aspect, expectations of a weaker dollar and lower yields is part of that equation,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.
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“Silver’s next target is $75 but year-end profit-taking could trigger a pullback.”
The U.S. dollar trimmed its losses after data showed the world’s largest economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter. A firmer dollar makes dollar-priced metals less attractive to overseas buyers. [USD/][US/]
Spot gold edged up 0.1% to $4,449.99 per ounce, as of 9:57 a.m. ET (1457 GMT), after hitting a record $4,497.55. Prices pared gains after the data.
Bullion has surged about 70% this year, driven by geopolitical tensions, U.S. rate cuts, strong central bank buying, and robust investment demand.
U.S. gold futures for February delivery gained 0.3% to $4,480.20.
“We continue to see the longer-term thematic of central bank foreign reserve diversification as a major tailwind for gold prices through the end of the decade,” analysts at SP Angel said in a note.
“We see gold rising towards $5,000/ounce next year,” the note added.
In the latest flare-up in geopolitical tensions, U.S. President Donald Trump last week ordered a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, and said he was not ruling out the possibility of war with the country.
The Trump administration said it will impose tariffs on Chinese semiconductor imports starting in June 2027.
Spot platinum jumped 3.9% to $2,202.30, its highest in over 17 years.
Palladium rose 2.8% to a three-year high of $1,808.25, tracking strength in gold and silver.
(Reporting by Sarah Qureshi and Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)