- Newton's First and Third Laws of Motion
- Gold's rally continues- 10 Consecutive Quarterly Highs
- Silver's price explodes
- Platinum and Palladium follow
- Risk rises to an unacceptable level
Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium posted extraordinary gains in 2025. Incredibly, gold was the laggard with a 64.37% gain. Palladium moved 81.51% higher, while platinum soared by 127.57%. Silver, the sector's leader, posted a 141.44% gain in 2025. Based on the nearby futures contracts' settlement prices, the 2025 closing levels were as follows:
- Gold: $4,341.10 per ounce
- Silver: $70.603 per ounce
- Platinum: $2,034.50 per ounce
- Palladium: $1,651.40 per ounce.
In late January 2026, the bullish trends continued to drive prices higher, with gold, silver, and platinum reaching new all-time highs during the first month of this year.
Newton's First and Third Laws of Motion
Sir Issac Newton's First Law of Motion, or Law of Inertia, states that a body in motion stays in motion. The precious metals rally has embodied Newton's First Law in 2025 and early 2026.
His Third Law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. While precious metals have yet to experience any significant corrections, commodity cyclicality and history suggest that the higher the prices rise, the greater the odds of substantial downside corrections.
It is impossible to pick tops or bottoms in markets where prices can rise or fall to levels that defy rational, reasonable, and logical fundamental and technical analysis. In precious metals, the trajectories have reached a stage where significant volatility is likely.
Gold's rally continues- 10 Consecutive Quarterly Highs
Gold posted its tenth consecutive quarterly gain and a new high in January 2026.
The quarterly chart shows that nearby gold futures prices rose 28.7% during the first month of 2026, to a high of $5,586.20 per ounce on January 29. At over $5,350 per ounce, gold was over $1,000 higher than the price one month earlier.
Silver's price explodes
Silver led the precious metals sector higher in 2025, eclipsing the 1980 record high of $50.36 per ounce.
Nearby COMEX silver futures reached $121.785 per ounce on January 29, 72.5% higher than the price at the end of December 2025. At over $114 per ounce, silver futures were over $40 higher in just under one month.
Platinum and Palladium follow
After years of trading in a sideways consolidation pattern around the $1,000 per ounce pivot point, NYMEX platinum futures broke out to the upside in 2025.
The quarterly chart highlights platinum's rally to a new record high in 2025 and another new all-time peak in January 2026 at $2,852.40 per ounce. Platinum moved 40.2% higher than the 2025 closing level at the January high.
While gold, silver, and platinum rose to all-time highs in January, NYMEX palladium futures remained below their March 2022 record peak.
The quarterly chart illustrates the bullish pattern in palladium futures, which took the least-liquid precious metals futures contract 32.9% higher from its 2025 closing level, reaching $2,195.50 per ounce in January 2026.
Risk rises to an unacceptable level
The rallies in precious metals have been nothing short of spectacular, and the trends in all four metals remain decidedly bullish. However, the unprecedented price appreciation and freight train rallies suggest that the factors surrounding Newton's Third Law could be on the horizon. The bottom line is that the risk of new long positions in the precious metals sector has increased to unacceptable levels, and any risk positions, on the long or short side, require careful attention to risk-reward dynamics. Expect wide daily price variance and extreme risk conditions to continue over the coming weeks and months. Commodity cyclicality suggests that prices will eventually reach unsustainable levels, but the current environment remains highly uncertain.
Volatility creates a paradise of trading opportunities, but it is also a nightmare for passive investors. Precious metals have entered the danger zone in early 2026.