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Given the state of the world politically, economically, financially and socially, the gold bull market is expected to continue in the long run, says Jeffrey Christian of New York-based CPM Group.
As metals continue to reach record levels, CPM Group this week also provided a market update on platinum and palladium prices amid US and international events becoming a dominant driver of investment demand.
The move away from traditional economic fundamentals was noted along with investor anxiety and renewed buying interest being heightened by rising political uncertainty and strained international relations.
It was also pointed out that, as the US government catches up from its October and early November furlough, the high volume of US administration data due to be released this month and next, may be economically impactful to the extent that it elevates the prices of precious metals even more.
"We're going to see a lot of data ... and a lot of that data may be economically hostile, which could add to the fuel that's driving precious metals prices higher," Christian pointed out in his 'what happens next?' video, covered by Mining Weekly.
The data coming out will cover the third and fourth quarters of 2025 and provide early first-quarter 2026 pointers.
"There are a lot of domestic and international political issues that are creating greater uncertainties, higher risks and greater investor anxieties, and that's going to continue until things change.
"We don't see necessarily a better change on the immediate horizon, so gold prices have risen very high. Our expectation has been that they would be stronger in the first quarter of this year and then possibly plateau. That continues to be our expectation.
"Over the course of 2025 gold prices rose from January through March, moved sideways in April, May, June and July, and then in late August, they rose again," Christian recalled.
WEALTH PRESERVATION INVESTORS
The presentation also highlighted the emergence of unconventional affluence-safeguarding price-trend investors entering the gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper and aluminium markets.
"We've seen a lot of short-term investors. These are not traditional precious metals investors. These are momentum traders and short-term speculative people coming into the gold and silver markets, as well as into platinum and palladium and copper and aluminium markets.
"These investors are now wedded to the idea of having and holding physical gold and silver as a form of wealth preservation.
"They're looking for capital appreciation, and if they see the price plateau, they can leave very quickly, so it's something to watch out for.
"But given the state of the world, given the political developments that we've seen and that we expect to see, given the breakdown of the United States relationships with its European allies, as well as Canada and Mexico, two of its three largest trading partners, as well as China, the third major trading partner, there are a lot of issues that probably are going to keep investors interested in precious metals this year," Christian observed.
PLATINUM PRICES
It was noted that platinum prices are higher now than they were at the beginning of 2008, when electricity failure in South Africa significantly disrupted platinum, palladium and rhodium production.
The chart displayed showed the steady rise of the platinum price from 2001 right into 2007. "Then the power went out," Christian recalled, which resulted in the platinum price first soaring to $2 300/oz, and then plummeting with a thud to $800/oz as a result of the US' Great Depression, which spread panic in the platinum-reliant automotive industry.
The panic was bought brought about by the automotive sector having bought a lot of platinu...

Long-run gold bull market expected by CPM Group of the US

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