Gold, silver and copper spent much of 2025 doing what few investors expected a year earlier: breaking records in quick succession and dragging the broader commodities conversation back into focus.
Gold pushed through US$4,400 an ounce, silver surged and is now above US$80, and copper climbed above US$11,700 a tonne, now approaching US$12,000 — all all-time highs. While each rally has its own drivers, the combined move has underscored a wider shift in how investors are approaching commodities, particularly metals tied to geopolitics, electrification and industrial demand.
For international financial analyst Tariq Al‑Rifai, the strength seen across metals last year was not an isolated phenomenon, nor simply a speculative blow-off. Instead, it reflects deeper changes in investor behaviour, supply constraints and long-term demand trends that are likely to extend well beyond the calendar year.
Gold’s breakout years in the making
Gold’s surge to fresh highs in 2025 did not arrive out of nowhere. Al-Rifai points out that the metal’s behaviour over the past two years already hinted at a structural shift.
“It didn’t breach US$2,000 until a couple of years ago, but once it touched US$2,000, it remained above that level all of last year, which was unprecedented,” he said. “That right there told you that there’s some staying power in the price of gold, and it’s going to stay around that level for quite some time.”
What followed was an acceleration driven by multiple forces converging at once. Central banks continued to add to reserves, while investors — from hedge funds to retail participants — increasingly buying gold as a hedge against geopolitical risk, policy uncertainty and market volatility.
“They were turning towards gold for a couple of reasons,” Al-Rifai said. “One is they didn’t want to miss out, so you had the FOMO effect. And then you also had the hedge funds getting into it as a hedge against some of the uncertainty, the geopolitical risk, tensions, etc. Overall, that has been driving the price of gold.”
The combination of strategic buying and momentum-driven demand has helped propel gold to levels once considered implausible. Whether those gains continue at the same pace into 2026 is an open question, but Al-Rifai argues that the underlying drivers — particularly central bank demand and geopolitical hedging — remain firmly in place.
Silver steps out of gold’s shadow
If gold was the steady climber, silver was the breakout performer. The metal’s sharp 2025 rally surprised even seasoned commodities watchers.
“Silver has been rising quietly for quite some time now,” Al-Rifai said. “Investors didn’t start to pay attention until sometime this year, but before that, there were a few things going on in the silver market.”
Unlike gold, silver’s rally has been driven as much by industrial demand as by investment flows. The metal plays a critical role in medical devices, electronics and, increasingly, renewable energy.
“Specifically, lately, what we’re seeing is the solar industry has become the number-one buyer of silver,” Al-Rifai said. “All of this, together with the fact that you’re not seeing any new mines come into production, put a squeeze on silver, and that’s when it started to rise — because of the shortage in the market.”
In recent months, though, “silver has gone almost parabolic”, again introducing the fear-of-missing-out element to the investment equation, he added: “A lot of investors are jumping in because they see this supply constraint continuing for some time.”
Despite his broader bullishness, Al-Rifai expects silver’s rapid ascent to pause at some point.
“Whenever you see something rise sharply, there’s a time when you’re going to see some kind of correction,” he said. “So I expect a correction in silver sometime. But I don’t think the bull run for silver is over yet.”
Copper rides the electrification wave
Copper’s rally has been less dramatic in percentage terms but no less significant in strategic importance. Now trading above US$11,980 a tonne, the metal has benefited from steady demand growth tied to electrification, technology and infrastructure.
The copper story is rooted in its role as a foundational industrial metal, Al-Rifai explained. Manufacturing, construction and power infrastructure remain major consumers, while new demand is emerging from high-tech sectors and energy transition applications.
“You’re seeing demand also from growth sectors such as the technology sector,” he said. “And of course, whenever you look at manufacturing and construction, which are big users of copper, that’s where you’re seeing demand. And investors, whenever they see new demand, especially from high-tech sectors — they get excited about it.”
As with silver, supply constraints have added tension to the market, with new mine development struggling to keep pace with long-term demand forecasts. That dynamic has helped sustain investor interest, even as broader macro conditions remain uneven.
Metals lead, others lag — for now
Despite the standout performance of metals, commodities as an asset class have not moved in lockstep. Broad-based indices remained relatively flat through much of 2025 — a divergence Al-Rifai attributes to weakness outside the metals complex.
“The most common index, I would say, is the CRB commodity index, it has been trading relatively flat for the year,” he said. The reason lies in the index’s heavy exposure to energy, agriculture and livestock — sectors that struggled in 2025 as oil prices softened and grain markets retreated.
“The rising star this year has been the metals sector, and I think that we’re going to see a rise in commodities as a whole next year,” Al-Rifai said.
“Whether or not the metals sector continues to rise at this rapid pace, I think we’ll continue to see a rise,” he added. “For investors, long-term, I think commodities are a very good play, and a very good space to be in right now, because it’s a long-term trend and will take time to play out.”
