Gold and silver have turned 2025 into a full‑metal bull market, with bullion, miners, and ETFs all behaving as if the 1970s called and wants its rally back. GLD and SIL are riding that wave, and the NYSE’s big gold‑and‑silver producers are suddenly discovering what life looks like when investors stop ignoring their balance sheets.
A Year When Metals Stole the Show
Gold prices have surged to record territory above 4,500 dollars an ounce, delivering roughly 40–70 percent type gains year to date depending on the reference series and methodology. Silver has done what silver traditionally does in late‑cycle metal manias: lagged quietly and then sprinted, with prices pushing into record territory in the mid‑70s to high‑70s per ounce zone by December.
The move has not been a slow grind so much as an accelerating repricing of safe‑haven assets as investors look beyond cash and Treasurys. Gold and silver are on track for their strongest annual advances since the late 1970s, a period that old‑timers still reference the way hockey fans talk about Gretzky.
GLD and SIL: ETF Frontlines
SPDR Gold Shares, the GLD ETF, has captured the bullion story in one tidy ticker, with 2025 total returns in the neighborhood of 60–70 percent and a price now hovering just north of 410 dollars. GLD’s assets have swelled into the roughly 140‑billion‑dollar range, turning it into one of the cleaner macro barometers for how worried global investors are about currencies, deficits, and political risk.
On the silver side, the Global X Silver Miners ETF, SIL, has morphed from niche vehicle into performance hero, with reports of YTD gains that have more than doubled amid a 50–160 percent type range of trailing returns depending on the cut of the data. That kind of run has a way of turning obscure mid‑cap miners into cocktail‑party talking points, at least at the kind of cocktail parties where people casually drop the phrase “all‑in sustaining cost.”
Miners: From Wallflowers to Headliners
At the company level, the NYSE’s largest gold and silver producers have finally started to look like they actually mine something other than shareholder patience. Newmont, the world’s largest gold producer, has seen its shares more than double this year, as record free cash flow and the integration of the Newcrest acquisition met a once‑in‑a‑generation bullion backdrop.
Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), long the quiet cost‑discipline champion, is benefiting from low‑risk Canadian exposure and sub‑industry all‑in sustaining costs that look unusually attractive when spot gold is north of 4,000 dollars. In the silver‑heavy camp, Pan American Silver (PAAS) and Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM) have leveraged the metal’s surge into outsized margin expansion, with Wheaton’s streaming model spitting out profit margins north of fifty percent as it clips royalties instead of wrestling directly with mine‑site inflation.
Why Prices Climbed – And Why They Might Not Be Done
Several forces have conspired to push precious metals higher:
- Monetary and currency anxiety
- Expectations for easier global monetary policy and rate‑cut hopes have pushed real yields lower, reviving the so‑called “debasement trade” as investors seek shelter from swelling government debt and softer fiat currencies.
- A weaker U.S. dollar and persistent talk of fiscal hangovers have helped turn gold and silver into the asset‑class equivalent of a fire escape: seldom used in good times, suddenly indispensable when someone smells smoke.
- Geopolitical and macro risk
- Ongoing conflicts, trade frictions, and tariff volleys have kept risk premia elevated, driving incremental flows into metals that carry no counterparty risk.
- Central banks have continued to add gold to reserves, reinforcing the idea that if you are worried about your neighbors, it helps to have your own metal in the basement.
- Supply constraints and industrial demand
- In silver, a structural supply deficit has collided with booming industrial use from solar panels, electronics, and broader energy‑transition demand, while mine supply has struggled to keep pace.
- Silver’s elevation to “critical mineral” status in policy circles has further tightened the narrative, if not always the physical market, making each new high less of a spike and more of a regime shift for planners.
Looking forward, many strategists argue that as long as real rates remain contained, fiscal math stays uncomfortable, and geopolitical risks fail to politely exit stage left, the backdrop for precious metals remains constructive. For miners, the key swing factor will be whether they can keep all‑in sustaining costs from rising as fast as spot prices, preserving the kind of operating leverage that turns cyclical rallies into full‑fledged reratings.
The Metal Bulls’ Quiet Luxury Moment
For now, gold and silver have become the quiet‑luxury trade of 2025 — understated, unfussy, and suddenly everywhere. GLD and SIL have provided liquid, exchange‑traded on‑ramps, while NYSE‑listed producers in both metals have dusted off old projects, refinanced on better terms, and rediscovered that investors do, in fact, read cash‑flow statements when the numbers get big enough.
Whether the rally ultimately ends with a gentle plateau or a climactic blow‑off is unknown, but for now, the message from the tape is clear: in a world full of promises, owning something that has no one’s liability attached is having a very good year.
The Sources
[1] Gold, Silver, and Copper Are All Hitting Record Highs—Here’s What’s Driving the Frenzy https://www.investopedia.com/gold-silver-and-copper-are-all-hitting-record-highs-here-s-what-s-driving-the-frenzy-11874277
[2] GLD Stock Chart (Dividends Reinvested, Inflation Adjusted) https://totalrealreturns.com/s/GLD
[3] Gold – Price – Chart – Historical Data – News – Trading Economics https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/gold
[4] Precious Metals Surge to Unprecedented Peaks: Gold and Silver … http://markets.chroniclejournal.com/chroniclejournal/article/marketminute-2025-12-26-precious-metals-surge-to-unprecedented-peaks-gold-and-silver-redefine-market-safe-havens-in-2025
[5] GLD Performance Report for Gold SPDR ETF – Barchart.com https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/quotes/GLD/performance
[6] Gold spot price: historical performance from 1978 to 2025 – Curvo https://curvo.eu/backtest/en/market-index/gold-bullion
[7] Three Mining Stocks To Buy As Silver Hits All-Time High https://www.investors.com/news/silver-prices-gold-newmont-pan-american-wheaton-mining/
[8] Why silver price is rising and will it continue to move upward in coming weeks? Here’s what investors shou https://economictimes.com/news/international/us/why-silver-price-is-rising-and-will-it-continue-to-move-upward-in-coming-weeks-heres-what-investors-should-do-now/articleshow/126189776.cms
[9] Gold and Silver Smash Records Again as Rally Gathers Momentum https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-25/silver-rises-to-record-gold-near-all-time-high-as-risks-persist
[10] Silver hit record highs in 2025 — here’s why the ‘Devil’s metal’ could have further to run https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/29/silver-hit-record-highs-in-2025-and-still-has-further-to-run.html
[11] Gold price predictions from J.P. Morgan Global Research https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/global-research/commodities/gold-prices
[12] Gold Price Charts & Historical Data – GoldPrice.org https://goldprice.org
[13] Gold prices just reached a record high. Here’s what’s behind the surge. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gold-price-silver-whats-behind-the-surge/
[14] Why are gold and silver prices hitting record highs? https://abcnews.go.com/Business/gold-silver-prices-hitting-record-highs/story?id=128616073
[15] Gold and silver hit records as investors hunt for safety https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd74ldr2zryo
[16] GLD: SPDR® Gold Shares – State Street Global Advisors https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/spdr-gold-shares-gld
[17] SPDR Gold Shares ETF – GLD Stock Price – Investing.com https://www.investing.com/etfs/spdr-gold-trust
[18] SIL ETF Stock Price & Overview https://stockanalysis.com/etf/sil/
[19] SIL Stock Price | Global X Silver Miners ETF – Investing.com https://www.investing.com/etfs/silver-miners
[20] Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) Performance History – Yahoo Finance https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SIL/performance/
[21] SIL | Global X Silver Miners ETF Overview – MarketWatch https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/fund/sil
[22] Global X Silver Miners ETF SIL Performance – Morningstar https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/xmex/sil/performance
[23] Silver and Gold are On the Rise. Should Precious Metals ETF … https://finance.yahoo.com/news/silver-gold-rise-precious-metals-153401633.html
[24] Gold Stock Performance – Yahoo Finance https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/basic-materials/gold/
[25] Largest gold mining companies by Market Cap https://companiesmarketcap.com/gold-mining/largest-gold-mining-companies-by-market-cap/
[26] Silver Stocks: 5 Biggest Companies in 2025 – Investing News Network https://investingnews.com/daily/resource-investing/precious-metals-investing/silver-investing/best-silver-stocks/
[27] Precious Metal Price Forecasts 2025: Gold, Silver and more https://www.bullionvault.com/gold-news/infographics/ai-gold-precious-metal-price-forecasts
[28] Why is silver outperforming gold? What to know before you invest. https://finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance/investing/article/why-is-silver-outperforming-gold-what-to-know-before-you-invest-231615030.html
[29] Gold and silver price today, prediction and forecast: Why precious metals rates are rising and should you https://economictimes.com/news/international/us/gold-and-silver-price-today-prediction-and-forecast-why-precious-metals-rates-are-rising-and-should-you-buy-or-wait-for-now-heres-full-analysis-platinum-palladium/articleshow/126188987.cms
[30] SPDR Gold Shares Overview – GLD – MarketWatch https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/fund/gld
[31] Perplexity Finance – Quotes, Forecasts, News, Charts, and More https://www.perplexity.ai/finance/GLD
[32] Publicly Traded Gold And Silver Mining Companies – SIC Code 104 https://fintel.io/industry/list/gold-and-silver-ores
[33] American Gold & Silver Mining Companies – BullionStar U.S. https://www.bullionstar.us/bullion-directory/gold-silver-mining-companies
[34] Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) – Stocks – Robinhood https://robinhood.com/stocks/SIL
[35] Largest silver mining companies by Market Cap https://companiesmarketcap.com/silver-mining/largest-silver-mining-companies-by-market-cap/
[36] 10 Biggest Silver Mining Companies – Investopedia https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/022516/worlds-top-5-silver-mining-companies.asp
[37] SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) Performance History – Yahoo Finance https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/GLD/performance/
[38] Performance > USA > SPDR Gold Shares (GLD). Bringing the gold … https://www.spdrgoldshares.com/usa/performance/
[39] SPDR® Gold Shares GLD Performance – Morningstar https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/arcx/gld/performance
[40] Silver and Gold are On the Rise. Should Precious Metals ETF … https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/silver-and-gold-are-rise-should-precious-metals-etf-investors-pick-gdx-or-sil
[41] Gold Dec 2025 Overview – GCZ25 – MarketWatch https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/future/gcz25
