Dec 29 (Reuters) – Silver climbed above $80 an ounce on Monday, supported by supply constraints, strong industrial demand, and bets on further U.S. interest rate cuts, with platinum also touching a record high.
* Spot gold was down 0.1% at $4,527.79 per ounce, as of 1152 GMT, December 28, after hitting a record high of $4,549.71 in the previous session. U.S. gold futures for February delivery were steady at $4,553.10/oz.
* The U.S. dollar hovered near the two-month lows it reached on Wednesday.
* Spot silver jumped 3.8% to $82.15 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $83.62 earlier in the session.
* Silver has gained 181% year-to-date, far outpacing gold, and breaking through the $80 mark, propelled by its designation as a critical U.S. minerals list, supply constraints, and low inventories amid rising industrial and investment demand.
* Bullion has also staged a stellar rally in 2025, climbing 72% so far and shattering multiple record highs.
* Gold has been helped by a cocktail of factors, including the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts and bets of further easing, geopolitical tensions, robust demand from central banks as countries look to move away from U.S. securities and the dollar, and rising holdings in exchange-traded funds.
* On the geopolitical front, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
* On the macroeconomic front, traders still expect two U.S. rate cuts next year.
* Non-yielding assets tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment.
* Spot platinum fell 0.8% at $2,429.10 per ounce, after rising to an all-time high of $2,478.50 earlier in the day, while palladium rose 0.1% to $2,003.83 per ounce. (Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
