Throughout 2025, gold (GLD) and silver (SLV) entered a solid uptrend. Investors accumulated the two metals to hedge their portfolio against the weakening U.S. dollar. Moreover, U.S. tariffs imposed against trading partners hurt demand for the U.S. currency.
Last week, the Federal Reserve announced that it would cut interest rates again by 25 bps. The cumulative 75 bps cut in this easing cycle decreases the attractiveness of holding U.S. debt. To offset the expected weakness in the treasury bond market, the Fed said it would buy $40 billion a month in treasury bonds.
The widely held T-bill ETFs (TLT) (IEF) continued a selloff that began in late October.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) also slipped sharply since peaking between July and October. Even though the Bitcoin ETF (BTC) clawed back recently, its attractiveness as a haven worsened considerably.
Currency investors would rather hold gold and silver. Those are tangible metals that have economic usefulness. That is on top of gold acting as a gold standard to the fiat currency system. Despite the formal ending of this function in 1971, gold still holds its traditional role.
In 2026, the Fed might cut interest rates again. It might ignore rising inflation, blaming tariffs for temporarily raising prices. The central bank might cite the weak job market for lowering rates again. That would give gold and silver another boost.
