Silver has a long history of extraordinary price movements, and the latest surge is undoubtedly one of the most notable episodes. Since breaking above the $50 level in late November, prices have followed a sharply rising, near-parabolic path, with little meaningful pause along the way.

Before that, silver had already been climbing steadily, trading at around $23 at the time of Donald Trump’s election to a second presidential term. A combination of industrial demand, constrained mine supply, and monetary demand played a decisive role in this remarkable rally. The most recent phase of the advance, however, has been driven by heavy participation from retail investors, as silver turned into something of an online “trending phenomenon.”

Naturally, some profit-taking can be expected at these levels. Still, it is difficult to bet against precious metals before gold itself reaches the $5,000 mark. Gold’s intraday high earlier today stood at $4,967, and it is currently trading only about $8 below that level.

Silver has always been characterized by sharp price volatility, driven by its dual role as both an industrial commodity and a monetary store of value. The most famous episode in its history remains the attempt by the Hunt brothers to corner the silver market in 1979 and 1980. Motivated by fears of inflation and currency debasement, Nelson and William Hunt accumulated vast quantities of physical silver and futures contracts.

By early 1980, the Hunt brothers controlled roughly one-third of the world’s freely tradable silver supply. Intense buying pressure pushed prices from around $6 to a historic peak near $50 per ounce in January 1980. The bubble burst after exchanges imposed new margin restrictions, triggering what became known as “Silver Thursday,” a market collapse that wiped out much of the Hunt family’s fortune.

Three decades later, silver experienced another major rally in 2011. Following the 2008 global financial crisis, quantitative easing policies and a weaker US dollar drove investors toward hard assets. Silver rose steadily and came close to its 1980 high, reaching around $49 in April 2011, before undergoing a sharp correction after margin requirements were raised again. That rally is widely thought to have been amplified by the emergence of silver-backed exchange-traded funds.

More recently, the “silver squeeze” phenomenon in early 2021 highlighted the growing influence of social media on financial markets. Inspired by the saga surrounding GameStop, retail investors on Reddit attempted to force a squeeze on institutions they believed were artificially suppressing silver prices. While they succeeded in boosting demand for physical silver and ETFs, pushing prices to an eight-year high near $30, the sheer size and liquidity of the global silver market absorbed the shock and prevented a repeat of the Hunt-era scenario.

Today, retail investors are once again trying their luck. The idea has circulated across various corners of the internet for some time, and it is striking — and even enjoyable — to see the upward trend delivering substantial gains and rewarding those who positioned themselves early.

Palladium prices rose on Friday amid positive expectations for continued gains in the industrial metal and stronger investment inflows.

UBS said in a note to clients on Friday that it had raised its palladium price forecast by $300 per ounce to $1,800, citing a sharp increase in investment flows into the metal.

Analyst Giovanni Staunovo said UBS made the revision “driven by the strength of investment demand in recent months,” adding that the relatively small size of the palladium market “often leads to sharp price swings.”

The bank explained that the recent price momentum was not driven by traditional industrial uses, but rather by investor positioning in anticipation of lower US interest rates, a weaker dollar, and rising geopolitical uncertainty.

Staunovo noted that “if investment demand remains strong, prices could rise further,” but warned that “in the absence of investment demand, we see the market as largely balanced,” which explains UBS’s preference for exposure to gold.

Demand for palladium has shifted in recent years after its use in automotive catalytic converters peaked in 2019, the same year prices surged above platinum, triggering substitution away from the metal.

The spread of electric vehicles, which do not use catalytic converters, has also weighed on palladium demand.

However, the bank said palladium has risen alongside platinum and silver since mid-2025, and with palladium now “significantly cheaper than platinum,” UBS expects catalytic converter manufacturers to “switch back to using it… in due course.”

Investment activity in palladium has picked up notably, with UBS pointing to rising exchange-traded fund holdings since mid-2025, alongside a sharp increase in speculative positions in the futures market, after being net short for most of last year.

China may also be supportive of demand. Staunovo said the launch of yuan-denominated platinum futures in Guangzhou “is likely to have supported demand for palladium,” as part of broader trading activity across the platinum group metals.

In trading, March palladium futures jumped 4.1% to $2,007 per ounce by 14:45 GMT.

Bitcoin fell on Friday, wrapping up a weak week, as easing tensions between the United States and Greenland, along with a large purchase by Strategy, failed to revive investor appetite for cryptocurrencies.

Risk appetite during the Asian trading session remained limited, weighed down by a meeting of the Bank of Japan, as well as a warning from US President Donald Trump about the possibility of military action against Iran.

By contrast, safe-haven assets such as gold and other precious metals surged to record highs, driven by increased demand for physical assets, while Bitcoin significantly lagged the performance of the yellow metal.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency slipped 0.5% to $89,517.3 by 00:53 US Eastern Time (05:53 GMT).

Bitcoin heads for a 5% weekly loss, ignoring positive signals

Although Bitcoin posted some gains after President Trump softened his tone on Greenland earlier this week, the cryptocurrency quickly reversed course and moved back toward one-month lows.

Bitcoin was on track to record a weekly loss of around 5%, receiving little support from an announcement by Strategy Inc, the largest institutional holder of Bitcoin, that it had purchased $2.1 billion worth of the cryptocurrency.

In recent months, Strategy has also emerged as a source of concern for Bitcoin markets, as investors have questioned the long-term viability of the company’s strategy of holding Bitcoin on its balance sheet, particularly amid the cryptocurrency’s persistently weak price performance.

Delays to a long-awaited bill aimed at regulating the cryptocurrency market also weighed on Bitcoin and broader crypto prices, after Coinbase Global Inc, the largest US-based cryptocurrency exchange, opposed the bill in its current form.

Retail investor appetite for Bitcoin remained largely subdued, especially as technology stocks continued to outperform, driven by enthusiasm around artificial intelligence, which has absorbed the bulk of capital inflows.

The Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index, which measures the gap between Bitcoin prices in the United States and the global average, showed that the cryptocurrency has been trading at a near-constant discount in the US market since mid-December. This signals that retail investor sentiment in the world’s largest crypto market remains broadly weak.

Cryptocurrency prices today: altcoins slide, set for steep weekly losses

Other cryptocurrencies declined alongside Bitcoin and were heading for significantly larger losses over the week.

Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, fell 2.4% to $2,946.35, and was on track for a weekly loss of about 11.2%.

XRP dropped 1.5%, while BNB edged down 0.1%, with both tokens set to post weekly losses of between 6% and 8%.

Oil prices rose again on Friday after US President Donald Trump renewed his threats against Iran, stoking fears of potential military action that could disrupt crude supplies, while production disruptions in Kazakhstan continued.

Brent crude futures for March delivery climbed 76 cents, or 1.2%, to $64.82 a barrel by 10:26 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 75 cents, or 1.3%, to $60.11 a barrel.

Both benchmark contracts were on track to post weekly gains of about 1.1%.

Prices had also risen earlier in the week on the back of Trump’s moves related to Greenland, but fell by around 2% on Thursday after he walked back threats to impose tariffs on Europe and ruled out military action.

Trump said on Thursday that Denmark, NATO, and the United States had reached an agreement granting “full access” to Greenland.

However, he also said the United States had a “fleet” heading toward Iran, expressing hope that it would not have to be used, while renewing warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear program.

A US official said warships, including an aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyers, are set to arrive in the Middle East in the coming days. The United States carried out strikes against Iran in June last year.

Iran is a major supplier of oil to China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer.

Separately, Chevron said oil production at the giant Tengiz field in Kazakhstan, one of the world’s largest oil fields, has not yet resumed. Operator Tengizchevroil, led by Chevron, announced on Monday that production had been halted following a fire.