Free Republic

CME Group will change the way it sets margins for gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures after a surge in prices and volatile trading. The new approach will set margins based on a percentage of so-called notional, the CME said in a notice. Previously, they were based on a dollar amount. The shift takes effect from Tuesday’s close and follows a “normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage,” the CME said. Precious metals have been the subject of an extraordinary rally over recent quarters, with the gains and price swings continuing into the new year. In the...

(Kitco News) - Gold prices are modestly down and silver prices modestly up in early U.S. trading Tuesday, just ahead of a key U.S. inflation report. Risk aversion remains elevated in the marketplace amid an active geopolitical environment. February gold was last down $25.80 at $4,589.10. March silver prices were up $0.474 at $85.58.

Those who have stolen billions of dollars from American taxpayers attach little value to what is has been so easily obtained. Further, their thefts have weakened the American government, which tips the odds that the American government will collapse, and their trade of dollars for gold will be a winning one.However, if the massive thefts can be halted, then the number of market participants who have billions in cash to which they attach little value will shrink drastically.Recall that price is determined at the margin. It only requires a few market participants (technically only one), who are willing to pay...

Gold and silver prices are strongly up and both hit new record highs in early U.S. trading Monday. Risk aversion is significantly elevated in the marketplace to start the trading week, amid tumult in the Federal Reserve and civil unrest in Iran that are driving safe-haven demand to the precious metals markets. February gold was last up $98.30 at $4,599.30. March silver prices were up $4.849 at $84.205.

Chinese silver demand is on pause allowing prices to drift from all-time highs. Meanwhile, gold marches on towards a test of its post-Christmas highs. However, the physical silver shortage is what matters and will continue to drive prices. In gold, there is a dawning realisation that there must be something solid behind its bull market, with speculators returning to Comex. And those clever people behind Tether’s gold stablecoin have been ramping up their reserves buying a further 26 tonnes in 2025 Q4, making them larger holders than most central banks. Silver’s frenetic rush paused this week with dealers assessing its...

Gold and silver flow into LBMA coffers, but ETFs take up the supply, and a silver shortage reappears in London. LBMA Gold and Silver Supply Climb - ETFs take up Supply December saw the biggest monthly jump in LBMA gold supplies since 2019. For silver at least, this is mostly from ETFs. Demand for silver ETFs has risen, as you can see below. The amount of metal still available is the top color, whatever that is. The bottom color is silver ETF holdings. Bitcoin to Gold Breaks Lockdown Trend Line Gold to bitcoin may have already broken the lockdown trend...

With silver unable to hold gains above $80 an ounce, one Canadian bank is taking another crack at the short side of the market. On Wednesday, commodity analysts at TD Securities published their latest trade, saying they were shorting silver futures and looking for sharply lower prices within the next three months as market fundamentals start to balance out.

Financed by JPMorgan, Jointly Owned by US DoD Under the plan, the U.S. Department of Defense will hold a 40% stake in the JPM Financed smelter joint-venture. GFN – WASHINGTON: Korea Zinc plans a $7.4 billion investment to construct a large-scale non-ferrous metals smelter in Clarksville, Tennessee, a project U.S. officials say will materially expand domestic critical minerals processing capacity and strengthen supply chain security.1 The project, known as the “U.S. Smelter,” is expected to require approximately $6.6 billion in capital expenditures, with total investment reaching $7.4 billion including financing costs. It is being developed in coordination with the U.S....

I am a visual thinker, and I love maps and charts, so I just put this one together. In my opinion, we are moving from peacetime economic trade war conditions to a quazi-kinetic war for the control of the critical natural resources that are needed by the major powers in our emerging multipolar world.So, just what in the Sam Hill is a quazi-war?Well, it turns out that we already fought one. Read about it at the link.Today, the unipolar period which followed the end of the cold war is coming to an end. It’s being replaced by a tri-polar world...

At first glance, gold’s higher price per ounce makes it seem like the obvious choice for miners. However, a closer look at production costs and environmental impact reveals why silver remains such an attractive metal to extract. This graphic, sponsored by Vizsla Silver Corp., uses data from Thunder Said Energy, AG Metals, and Metals Focus Gold Mine Cost Service to compare the costs of mining silver vs. gold. Gold mining is not only significantly more energy-intensive than silver mining but also produces many more emissions because of the increased energy intensity.

2025 was an extraordinary year for precious metals. Gold, silver, and platinum each outperformed other asset classes, including equities, bitcoin (2024’s best performer), and even indexes tracking artificial intelligence (AI)—one of 2025’s most popular investment themes.Silver and platinum rose by approximately 170 percent in 2025, while gold returned a highly respectable 73 percent.Among AI stocks, only Palantir outperformed gold.Why such stellar performance from assets once derided by governments as “barbarous relics” and shunned by investors as outdated?The reason I wrote at the start of last year that we should “expect gold to shine in 2025” was because global conditions had...

After the aborted 2024 rally sapped its momentum, and the tariff threats of early 2025 clouded its industrial demand picture, silver ultimately delivered on its promise this year, and then some, as prices gained 170% and counting. And while big banks and institutions are growing cautions with silver on the verge of $80 per ounce, many industry experts and a solid majority of retail traders see another standout year for the gray metal in 2026. Spot silver kicked off the year trading near $29.50 per ounce, after having closed 2024 with a pair of bounces right at the $29 support...

Very few people know exactly what was said, promised, discovered, obfuscated, threatened, etc. in the dark and high-tension days surrounding the collapse of Bear Stearns and its taxpayer-subsidized subsequent digestion by JPMorgan. What is irrefutable is that JPMorgan inherited Bear’s enormous and disastrous short silver position. How they would deal with it in response has fundamentally altered the silver market, while simultaneously setting it up for a historic rally. Bear Stearns’ failure coincided, to the day, with gold hitting all-time highs (over $1000) and silver hitting 30 year highs ($21). It’s easy to calculate that Bear lost more than $2...

CME Raises Silver Margins to $25K as Market Manipulation Intensifies CME raises silver margins to $25K amid a price surge, reviving manipulation concerns as higher costs threaten trader liquidations. On December 26, 2025, the CME Group announced an increase in margin requirements for silver futures. Starting December 29, 2025, the initial margin for March 2026 silver contracts will rise to $25,000. This move comes amid rising silver prices and growing concern about market manipulation. The CME’s decision is seen as another attempt to control silver’s price during a period of increased demand. The Impact of the Margin Hike on Silver...

The price of silver is about $78.65 as of Friday—a new high—according to the New York Commodity Exchange.Silver’s price surge has outpaced gold, though the more expensive metal’s price rose just over 1.2% to hit a high of $4,562.70 on Friday.

China’s relentless silver buying at record prices, a record SHFE spread, and 2026 export controls confirm silver has become the decisive industrial, economic, tech, and military weapon Physical silver buying in China is continuing at full speed even as silver marks fresh all‑time highs, and that persistence is the tell. What is unfolding is not a normal commodity cycle; it is a quiet arms race for the metal that powers the modern world.​ Silver buying doesn’t care about price. China’s silver demand has only intensified as prices have exploded, with Shanghai spot and near‑dated SHFE futures trading at persistent premiums...

Silver’s market value has reached about $4.04 trillion, slightly higher than Apple’s $4.02 trillion at the close of trading on Wall Street on Tuesday. Silvetr prices kept climbing in global markets, with futures rising above $71 an ounce. This has taken silver’s gains this year to almost 150%, making it world’s third most valuable asset, moving ahead of Apple Inc, the CNBC reported. The top two spots of most valued assets globally are now held by Gold and Nvidia. Silver market capitalisation reaches $4.4 trillion. Silver’s market value has reached about $4.04 trillion, slightly higher than Apple’s $4.02 trillion at...

Prior to reading this update. Mexico sanctioning Violent takeover of Mexican silver mine lets provide some context Silver is already in multi‑year structural deficit, with demand exceeding mine and scrap supply and drawing down inventories.​ Industrial demand for Silver is surging from solar, electronics, EV/solid‑state batteries, defense, aerospace, robotics and AI hardware.​ India is monetizing silver through record imports and growing use as savings and investment within its financial system.​ New RBI rules encourage silver to enter the banking system as collateral (along with gold) Tight physical markets and backwardation show paper benchmarks are losing clean control over silver pricing.​...

Gold and silver prices saw a fresh uplift on Monday as the shortened trading week kicks off. Investors typically rebalance their portfolios at the end of the year, and gold and silver are seen as safe bets. “The value of gold as a monetary potential hedge has reemerged,” said Matthew McLennan, head of global value team at First Eagle Investments. Gold and silver prices soared to new highs on Monday. Gold was last seen at a record $4,445.8 per ounce while spot gold was last trading at $4,414.99. Prices are up nearly 70% since the start of the year. The...

PARIS (AP) – Three men will stand trial next year after a silver steward employed at the official residence of the French president was arrested this week for the theft of items of silverware and table service worth thousands of euros, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. The Élysée Palace’s head steward reported the disappearance, with the estimated loss ranging between 15,000 and 40,000 euros (($17,500-$47,000). The Sèvres Manufactory – which supplied most of the furnishings – identified several of the missing items on online auction websites. Questioning of Élysée staff led investigators to suspect one of the silver stewards, whose...