1. Silver and gold futures fell sharply on Monday after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the world’s largest trading floors for commodities, asked traders to put up more cash to make bets on precious metals with prices surging this year. This year, gold futures are up 65%, and silver has more than doubled. Exchanges sometimes increase margin requirements when a commodity or other security experiences a significant price run. In its notice, the CME said it was raising margin requirements “per the normal review of market volatility.” Silver futures tumbled 8% early Monday while gold slid 5%. Silver prices have skyrocketed this year, surpassing records dating back to the early 1980s, when traders attempted and failed to corner the silver market. Supplies have dwindled, with production at major mines slowing. At the same time, there’s been an increased industrial need for silver for solar panels as well as data centers.
2. Platinum prices are on track for their strongest monthly rally in nearly four decades in December, fueled by the EU’s U-turn on its 2035 combustion-engine ban, a tight supply backdrop, and rising investment demand for precious metals. Platinum and palladium, both used in autocatalysis that reduce car exhaust emissions, have surged this year as U.S. tariff uncertainty and a rally in gold and silver helped offset long-term headwinds from the rise of electric vehicles. The EU’s plan unveiled in December is “a steroid jab for PGMs, prolonging their use in catalytic converters”, analysts at Mitsubishi said. “Not only is the extension indefinite, but the EU will require ongoing tighter emission levels, which by extension will require higher PGM loadings.” After hitting a record high of $2,478.50 per ounce on Monday, the metal is heading for its biggest yearly growth on record of 146%. Its sister metals, palladium and rhodium, are up 80% and 95% respectively so far in 2025.
3. Lower mortgage rates and slowing price growth pushed pending home sales up 3.3% in November, the largest jump in contract signings since early 2023, as even modest signs of cooling in the US housing market brought buyers to the table. Monday’s report from the National Association of Realtors showed November’s jump from the prior month outpacing a 0.9% increase that economists expected. Compared with a year earlier, contract activity is up 2.6%. All regions of the country saw an uptick in homes going under contract last month, with the West showing the biggest month-over-month gain at 9.2%. “Homebuyer momentum is building,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “Improving housing affordability, driven by lower mortgage rates and wage growth rising faster than home prices — is helping buyers test the market,” he said. “More inventory choices compared to last year are also attracting more buyers to the market.” The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has stood near 6.2% over the past two months, down from a high of 7% in early 2025 and a range closer to 6.75% that prevailed through much of the summer.
4. In the week ending December 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 199,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 214,000 to 215,000. The 4-week moving average was 218,750, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised by 250 from 216,750 to 217,000.
5. Oil is headed for its steepest annual loss since the start of the pandemic in 2020, in a year that has been dominated by geopolitical risks and steadily rising supplies across the globe. A punishing surplus is expected to weigh on prices in 2026. Brent steadied above $61 a barrel on Wednesday, with prices down 18% this year. Global oil markets have been oversupplied this year. Both the International Energy Agency and the US government see production exceeding consumption by just over 2 million barrels a day in 2025, and that surplus worsening in the coming year.
6. EUR/USD returned to the 1.1750 price zone in the American session on Friday, despite falling Wall Street, which indicates risk aversion. Trading conditions remain thin following the New Year holiday and ahead of the weekend, with the focus shifting to U.S. employment and European data scheduled for next week.
7. The USD/JPY pair trades in positive territory for the fourth consecutive day around 157.00 during the early European session on Friday. The cautious pace of the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) monetary tightening weighs on the Japanese Yen (JPY) against the Greenback. Traders will take more cues from the U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls report for December, which is due next week.
Silver’s exceptional volatility in recent days has captured the zeitgeist — with even the likes of Elon Musk drawing attention to the metal’s ferocious rally to all-time highs. The metal rose to a record above $84 an ounce early Monday, before promptly crashing close to $70 in thin, post-holiday trading. And this was by design. The margin requirements for Comex silver futures contracts (and for all precious metals) were raised on Monday, at 2:00 am EST during the thinnest trading time and Holiday trading week possible. That added headwinds since traders will need to put up more cash to keep their positions open. Some speculators won’t want to do that and will be forced to shrink or close their trades instead. Silver prices jumped more than 25% in December alone, on track for the biggest monthly increase since 2020. Surging investor interest in China has been a key driver of silver prices in recent days. Speculators piled into the precious metal, mirroring a similar dynamic playing out in platinum. Elevated buying in the Shanghai Gold Exchange’s silver contracts in December has pushed premiums to a record high, dragging other international benchmarks along. Thanks to a tariff-related trade, much of the world’s available silver still remains in New York warehouses. The surge of metal into the U.S. pushed the London market into a full-blown squeeze in October, and borrowing costs there remain well above their normal levels. That helped set the stage for increased volatility and frequent price spikes. At the time of writing on Tuesday, silver is trading at $76.14 /oz.
As the year came to a close, changes are filtering through the U.S. housing market. Mortgage rates are lower than they were this time last year. Home values are decreasing in certain areas, sellers are reducing their listing prices, and houses are staying on the market for longer. Considering all of the factors that exist right now in the housing market — is it a good time to buy a house?
Understanding the Current Housing Market
Good news for anyone who wants to buy a house soon: There are positive signs of improvement. There are indications that the real estate market has become more balanced since 2024.
Active Listings
More homes are on the market overall. Active listings have increased by 12.6% since November 2024. The annual increase in inventory means you have more options than at this time last year.
Price Reductions
In November, 18% of listings featured price reductions. The Northeast was the region with the fewest price cuts, and the South experienced the most.
Time on the Market
The median number of days homes were on the market rose to 64 days in November. The longer listings remain active, the more choices buyers have. The increased time on the market is likely triggering those seller discounts we mentioned above, too.
Mortgage Rates
According to Freddie Mac, the highest rate over the same period has been 7.04%. They’ve been hovering in the low-to-mid-6% range lately, and the average 30-year fixed rate is currently 6.22%. While that may still feel high compared to 2020 and 2021 rates, at least interest rates are currently staying well below 6.5%. Some buyers get below-market mortgage rates by negotiating a buydown or special financing from a seller or builder.
Volatility should be expected to remain high as investors will be closely watching for hints on the upcoming monetary policy direction. Many investors have redoubled their efforts to ensure that their portfolios are sufficiently diversified in the hope that they will be able to withstand corrections in multiple market sectors. Many of these investors have included physical precious metals as part of their diversification plans, given their long history as a hedge against both inflation and during times of economic turmoil. Remember, the key to profitability through the ownership of physical precious metals is to own the physical product and hold it for the long term. Always remember that you should never overextend your ability to maintain ownership of your precious metals over the long run.
Trading Department – Precious Metals International Ltd.
Friday to Friday Close (New York Closing Prices)
| Dec. 26, 2025 | Jan. 2, 2026 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $4,519.13 | $4,323.15 | -195.98 | -4.34% |
| Silver | $76.43 | $71.88 | -4.55 | -5.95% |
| Platinum | $2,434.04 | $2,131.68 | -302.36 | -12.42% |
| Palladium | $1,921.62 | $1,639.89 | -281.73 | -14.66% |
| Dow | 48710.97 | 48371.64 | -339.33 | -0.70% |
Month End to Month End Close
| Nov. 28, 2025 | Dec. 31, 2025 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $4,215.72 | $4,321.97 | 106.25 | 2.52% |
| Silver | $56.44 | $71.26 | 14.82 | 26.26% |
| Platinum | $1,687.29 | $2,042.26 | 354.97 | 21.04% |
| Palladium | $1,472.82 | $1,614.12 | 141.30 | 9.59% |
| Dow | 47716.42 | 48063.29 | 346.87 | 0.73% |
Previous Year Comparison
| Jan. 3, 2025 | Jan. 2, 2026 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $2,641.84 | $4,323.15 | 1681.31 | 63.64% |
| Silver | $29.58 | $71.88 | 42.30 | 143.00% |
| Platinum | $942.44 | $2,131.68 | 1189.24 | 126.19% |
| Palladium | $928.10 | $1,639.89 | 711.79 | 76.69% |
| Dow | 42732.13 | 48371.64 | 5639.51 | 13.20% |
Here are your Short-Term Support and Resistance Levels for the upcoming week.
| Gold | Silver | |
| Support | 4396/4261/4184 | 71.19/63.23/59.16 |
| Resistance | 4609/4685/4821 | 75.26/83.22/87.29 |
| Platinum | Palladiumn | |
| Support | 2134/1814/1651 | 1729/1531/1413 |
| Resistance | 2297/2617/2780 | 2045/2168/2361 |