Gold and silver bars of different sizes lie in a safe on a table at the precious metals dealer Pro Aurum in Munich.
Sven Hoppé | Alliance in pictures | Getty Images
Prices of gold, silver and platinum are up sharply since the start of the year, and strategists believe the precious metals could continue to reach new record highs in the coming months.
Prices of precious metals rose sharply on Wednesday after softer than expected US inflation data increase the short-term prospect of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
Gold Price Wednesday ruler to their highest level in more than three weeks on the news, while silver hit its highest level in more than three years and platinum climbed to a near one-year high.
Gold Spot Price moderated slightly on Thursday to trade around $2,382 an ounce at 1:25 p.m. London time, after settling at its highest level since April 19 in the previous session. The yellow metal has recorded several times historic highs these last weeks.
Silver Spot Price, meanwhile, was trading down 0.5% at around $29.54 an ounce. The precious metal, sometimes described as “poorer cousin” gold, briefly touched $29.73 on Wednesday to record its highest intraday level since February 2021.
Platinum Price for delivery in July traded up 0.7% Thursday at $1,077 an ounce, extending gains after Wednesday's session closed more than 2.4% higher.
Strategists at Saxo Bank said in recent research note, gold prices could soon test $2,400 At this level, silver could rise as high as $30, while platinum has upside potential to reach $1,130.
The Danish bank said on Wednesday that its “year of metalsThe theme had continued to gain momentum in recent weeks, citing its preference for gold, silver and copper.
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Furthermore, analysts at ROTH Capital Partners predict that gold and silver prices will rise further in the coming months.
The price of gold “now looks set to rise and surpass recent highs reached in April. We can set a technical target for the price to rise to $2,600,” said JC O'Hara, chief technical strategist at ROTH Capital Partners, in a press release. research note published on Sunday.
For silver, O'Hara said that if prices can rise above $30, “there will be little resistance up to the $35/$37 area.”
“Cautious approach”
Gold, which is generally considered a “safe haven” asset during times of financial uncertainty, has been on an upward trend since late 2022 despite high interest rates and a relatively strong U.S. dollar.
Gold prices, like silver, tend to have a inverse relationship with interest rates. A higher interest rate environment generally hurts demand for gold and silver because precious metals don't pay interest, making them less attractive compared to investments that do, like bonds .
However, not everyone expects precious metal prices to continue to strengthen over the coming months.
Ewa Manthey, commodities strategist at Dutch bank ING, said In a research note released earlier this month, gold prices were likely to decline this quarter “as the Fed continues its cautious approach and geopolitics is already factored into the current price.”
Manthey said ING expects gold prices to average around $2,250 an ounce in the second quarter, with an average of $2,218 for 2024. The bank previously said that gold prices were likely to peak at $2,300 on average in the last three months of the year.
— CNBC's Michael Bloom and Lee Ying Shan contributed to this report.