Precious metal Metal record hunt halted - gold, silver, copper under pressure
The weeks of soaring metal prices came to an abrupt halt on Thursday. Gold, silver and copper fell sharply in the afternoon.
29.01.2026, 08:11
29.01.2026, 18:18
SDA
Gold initially traded at a record price of 5595 US dollars per troy ounce on the London Metal Exchange. The price had risen by just over 20 percent since mid-January. The flight to safe investments due to increasing geopolitical risks is seen as a strong price driver.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had threatened Iran with a pre-emptive military strike if the leadership in Tehran planned attacks on US facilities. On the financial markets, this is fueling concerns that the political risks could spread to the entire Persian Gulf region.
Profit-taking set in in the afternoon, according to market observers. According to analyst Christine Romar from trading house CMC Markets, speculative investors sold off gold investments on a large scale following price losses on the New York Stock Exchange. The price of gold slipped by around 300 dollars in a short space of time and was last traded at just 5296 dollars.
Similar development for silver
A similar price trend was seen in silver. As soon as a record price of 121.65 dollars per ounce was paid, a strong countermovement set in. The price also collapsed within a short space of time and was last traded significantly lower at just 114.18 dollars.
Silver has been in even greater demand than gold in recent weeks and months. In 2025, the price of silver had risen by almost 150%.
Precious metals - especially gold - are seen by many investors as "safe havens" in times of crisis. In recent weeks, numerous geopolitical risks such as the US attack on Venezuela, the Greenland crisis and the tense situation in Iran have unsettled investors.
Silver is also an important industrial metal that is needed for many applications relating to AI, robotics and energy. In addition to the flight to safe investments, stronger demand in the wake of a stronger economic trend is therefore also seen as a price driver.
Counter-movement for copper too
In addition to precious metals, copper also reached a record high in the course of trading, at times trading at USD 14,400 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange. The sharpest price jump since 2009 of around 10 percent was also followed by a significant countermovement.
The price of copper has been on the rise for around six months, with the increase gaining considerable momentum since December. The market pointed to the US economy, which had recently grown surprisingly strongly. The latest economic data indicate that the US economy will remain robust, which will also result in higher consumption of industrial metals.
In addition, demand for copper for data centers and for the expansion of alternative energies is expected to grow. In general, copper is primarily used in electrical engineering, the construction industry and mechanical engineering.
