From Record Highs to Rewritten Forecasts: Precious Metals’ Explosive Start to 2026

Precious metals entered 2026 at record levels only to capitalize on those gains with unprecedented growth throughout January. Despite all these record highs, major financial institutions are becoming increasingly bullish on gold and silver.

In this week’s The Gold Spot, Scottsdale Bullion & Coin’s Sr. Precious Metals Advisor Steve Rand and Precious Metals Advisor Brian Conneely cover the precious metals markets’ January rally, gold’s rising share of foreign reserves, and how major financial institutions are responding to these structural shifts.

The January Precious Metals Surge

The precious metals market has opened 2026 with extraordinary momentum, building directly on its strong performance from 2025. Gold, silver, and platinum have all reached new record highs, driven by an unprecedented one-month surge in January that extended last year’s rally rather than reversing it.

Gold has surged from an already elevated $4,300/oz to a peak of $5,600/oz, marking a gain of approximately 30.2%. Silver continued its late-2025 momentum, rising from $71/oz to $120/oz, a gain of roughly 69.0%. Platinum followed the same trajectory, climbing from $2,100/oz to $2,800/oz, representing an increase of about 33.3%.

Gold Becomes the World’s Largest Reserve Asset

Gold’s persistent growth in value has been mirrored by a widespread institutionalized adoption as countries seek to stabilize their economies amid rampant de-dollarization and market volatility. Recently, the yellow metal overtook U.S. Treasuries to become the world’s largest reserve asset for the first time in modern financial history — marking a seismic shift in the global monetary system.

It wasn’t long ago when gold overtook the euro to become the second most widely held reserve asset, and the metal’s recent strength has propelled it to the top of the reserve pile. This transition comes as central banks purchased nearly 900 tons of physical gold in 2025, maintaining an elevated pace of consumption.

Wall Street Shifts Its Narratives

For a while, major financial institutions remained skeptical of gold’s rally, even as the yellow metal outperformed the stock market and outstripped the dollar in reserve shares.

Now, the Wall Street bigwigs are finally changing their tune on the precious metal, admitting that this is more than a short-lived rally driven by temporary risks and cyclical factors. Rather, gold’s robust upward trajectory, along with the entire precious metals market, is being recognized for what it is: a structural shift in the global financial system.

“What’s remarkable is that the skeptical fund managers and the mega bank analysts aren’t calling for corrections. Instead, they’re raising their forecasts. The floodgates are open. The Wall Street establishment can no longer deny what’s happening with precious metals.”

Steve Rand

General Manager / Sr. Precious Metals Advisor

For instance, Deutsche Bank — Germany’s flagship bank giant — touts gold’s prolonged strength as a “long-run story” about “monetary regimes” and “inflation shocks.”

Rosenberg Research reports that “central banks are buying en masse” and that this “diversification process is in the middle innings,” suggesting the trend toward the dollar is only intensifying.

2026 Gold Price Forecasts Get Revised Upward

The precious metals market is only a month into the year, and many prominent names are already revising their 2026 gold price forecasts to the upside.

• Goldman Sachs followed by lifting its forecast from $4,900/oz to $5,400/oz, a meaningful turn for a bank that has historically been cautious on gold.
• Morgan Stanley moved its gold outlook from $4,800/oz to $5,700/oz, pointing to a combination of geopolitical pressure, sustained central bank buying, and steady ETF inflows.
• Bank of America raised its projection from $5,000/oz to $6,000/oz, framing gold less as a price trade and more as a risk-management asset.
• UBS increased its gold price target from $4,900/oz to $6,200/oz for March, June and September 2026, with potential upside to $7,200/oz.
• BMO took the longest view, increasing its forecast from $4,600/oz to $6,350/oz and projecting $8,650/oz by Q4 2027!

Due to gold’s rapid price increases only one month into the year, we expect many of these forecasts, and many on our 2026 gold price forecasts page, to get revised yet again and soon.

2026 Silver Forecasts Get a Boost Too

Silver price forecasts for 2026 are getting a bump, as well. BMO Capital Markets projects silver reaching $160/oz by the end of 2026 and $220/oz by the end of 2027, framing the metal not as a speculative trade, but as a strategic asset. Their thesis treats silver through a dual-demand lens — as both a monetary metal and a critical industrial input — positioning it as a hybrid asset with structural support from both financial demand and real-world consumption. There’s a reason silver has been stealing headlines.

Citigroup also revised their silver price forecast higher, expecting silver prices to now hit a record $150/oz within three months, pointing to continued strong buying momentum in China.

“The consensus is clear. This isn’t just a bubble that’s ready to pop. It’s a structural shift in the global financial system, and we’re only in the middle innings.”

Steve Rand

General Manager / Sr. Precious Metals Advisor

Navigating a Historic Market Shift

This moment in the metals market is historic, but it can also feel overwhelming. Even with gold, silver, and platinum at all-time highs, the broader consensus remains that the market still has room to grow. What’s driving this move is a profound shift tied to structural weaknesses in the global monetary system, in which precious metals are increasingly emerging as foundational assets in a changing financial order.

For investors trying to figure out where to start and how to approach this market responsibly, education is essential. A disciplined strategy is far more critical than chasing headlines. To help with that, you can claim your FREE COPY of our Rookie Mistakes Guide, designed to help new investors avoid the 22 common pitfalls and build a smarter, long-term approach to wealth preservation.