The economist explained the reasons for the decline in the value of futures on precious metals

The sharp drop in the prices of gold, silver, platinum and palladium after the rapid growth at the end of the year is an expected correction and fits into the market behavior at historically high levels. Precious metals repeatedly updated their highs in November and December, which attracted a significant amount of speculative capital. Alexander Schneiderman, head of Alfa-Forex's Customer Support and Sales department, told Izvestia on December 29.

According to him, in such a situation, any reason — from profit—taking by large investors to changing expectations for the Fed's policy - leads to synchronous sales throughout the sector.

"The key factor remains the Fed's monetary policy and the dynamics of the US dollar. The weakening of the dollar and lower interest rates previously supported the rise in prices for precious metals, as the profitability of dollar-denominated instruments fell and the attractiveness of protective assets increased. However, the market is extremely sensitive to the regulator's rhetoric: even hints of a slowdown in policy easing, a change in inflation expectations or a stabilization of real rates can cause a reversal of short—term trends," the economist said.

The demand structure has a separate impact on the dynamics, the expert added. Gold has become the most traded instrument with a turnover of 2.88 trillion rubles. The turnover in silver amounted to about 320 billion rubles, and the total transactions in the two metals exceeded 3.2 trillion rubles. Against the background of a decrease in the volatility of the ruble, some Russian investors are shifting their interest towards assets with more pronounced price fluctuations.

Schneiderman concluded that the transition of private investors to the precious metals market accelerated after the launch of CFD instruments agreed by the Bank of Russia. This expanded access to operations and stimulated trading activity, but global macroeconomic factors remain the key driver.

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The prices of futures for precious metals - platinum, palladium, gold and silver — on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and Comex exchange (a division of NYMEX) have moved to a sharp decline after rising earlier, according to data from trading platforms. The price of gold futures for February delivery exceeded $4,550 per troy ounce for the first time today. March silver futures updated the record, rising to $72.75. The price of the January platinum futures is rising by 3.34% to $2,363.8 per troy ounce.

General Director of the service Moneymatika.ru Maxim Molderf assessed the prospects for gold in 2026 after record growth on December 27 in an interview with Izvestia. The price of the precious metal is expected to be around $4.5 thousand per troy ounce. It is also allowed to increase quotations to $ 4.5–5 thousand.

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