Here Are the Year-to-Date Returns for Precious Metals

Precious metals are reminding investors that compelling opportunities exist beyond the traditional playgrounds of stocks and bonds. In 2025, these assets have been firmly on the radar of both big and small investors who are looking to fortify their portfolios against market turbulence. With inflation stubbornly persistent and interest rates remaining elevated — a situation worsened by ongoing trade wars — precious metals offer a safe haven and a unique chance for returns that move independently from the broader markets.

The price of gold has served as a powerful barometer of this trend, with demand for the leading precious metal soaring to new heights this year. As of mid-2025, gold’s price is hovering near $3,286 per ounce, not far from the record high of $3,500 reached in April. Given the environment, we thought it was the perfect time to examine how various precious metals are performing — a lineup that includes not just gold, but also silver, palladium and platinum.

Key Points in This Article:

• Precious metals had a strong first half in 2025, bolstered by ongoing equity market uncertainty, geopolitical conflict and President Trump’s trade wars. 
• Gold, silver, platinum and palladium have all produce gains that trounced the performance of the S&P 500. 
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Gold

Gold has offered a rock-star performance in 2025, cementing its status as a top-performing asset. The precious metal has delivered an attractive year-to-date gain of over 25%, rising to multiple new record highs, including surging past the $3,500 per ounce level in April.

This impressive run has been fueled by a several catalysts, including President Trump’s tariff agenda, heightened geopolitical tensions, a weakening U.S. dollar and worries about pesky inflation. As investors sought shelter for their portfolios, they have crowned gold their safe-haven asset of 2025. While the price has retreated a bit from its peak, settling in the $3,300 range, Wall Street firm JPMorgan has published a bullish outlook on gold, predicting that while the prices will average $3,675 in Q4 2025, they are poised to inch closer to $4,000 per ounce by mid-2026, noting that demand from both investors and central banks is expected to be robust for the foreseeable future. 

Silver

Silver is also boasting a formidable performance so far in 2025, riding a powerful wave that has driven prices past the $30 per ounce level for the first time in over a decade. This white precious metal has delivered a striking year-to-date gain of over 20%, fueled by its unique hybrid nature. On one hand, it benefits from the same safe-haven dynamics as gold — climbing on geopolitical tensions and investor concerns over inflation and interest rates. But its secret weapon lies in its industrial demand, as it is a critical component in the booming solar panel and electric vehicle sectors.

Analysts have now set ambitious price targets for silver in the second half of the year, anticipating it could climb to the $40 to $50 range in 2025, supported by a persistent supply deficit and accelerating industrial use. Robert Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” is bullish on the silver price. He calls it an “asymmetric buy,” explaining that it has greater upside potential with minimal downside risk. Kiyosaki in a post on X predicted that the price of silver will “explode in July.” 

Palladium

Known as a sister metal to platinum, Palladium has staged a relief rally this year. After last year’s downward trend, short interest in palladium futures contracts has been dwindling in 2025 while investors and traders have been hitting the “buy” button. This industrial precious metal has delivered a year-to-date gain of approximately 23%, a performance largely driven by its use in catalytic converters for fossil fuel-powered vehicles, where demand has been rebounding.

While its performance is still influenced by supply from major producers like Russia and South Africa, its price’s resilience reflects demand from the auto sector, specifically internal combustion engines, where more than three-quarters of its demand originates. This stands in juxtaposition with expectations that demand would weaken due to EV adoption, proving that even a market with headwinds can surprise investors to the upside.

On the flip side, palladium’s narrow use case serves as a risk factor, especially given the auto sector’s target on its back throughout the trade wars of 2025. Palladium is a scarcer metal than its precious metal peers, resulting in a more volatile and less liquid asset.

Platinum

Rounding out the precious metals lineup, Platinum has displayed a strong uptrend in 2025, attempting a notable comeback. The metal has climbed 47.2% higher year-to-date, crossing the $1,300 per ounce level to revisit multi-year highs. The catalyst has been supply worries that despite tariffs caused the U.S. and China markets to go on buying sprees. Regarding platinum demand,  TD Securities Commodity Strategies Daniel Ghali reportedly stated, “[Everybody] expected there to be a drag on demand resulting from these tariffs. There’s absolutely no evidence of that as of yet. Instead, what we see is stockpiling in China competing with stockpiling in the US, both driven by different incentives, but both contributing to a depletion in global inventories.”

Platinum’s performance has been driven by tried and true supply and demand dynamics: a supply deficit coupled with soaring demand. A key driver is the ongoing trend of automakers substituting platinum for pricier palladium in catalytic converters, capitalizing on the favorable price spread. Platinum has wider use cases than palladium, extending to jewelry, medical devices, etc. On top this, platinum is finding a new growth engine in the renewable hydrogen sector, where it serves as a crucial component in electrolyzers, creating a potential new chapter for this interesting precious metal.

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