Rajesh Bhayani

Gold and silver delivered their strongest returns in decades in 2025. While sharp swings and profit booking signal near-term risks, experts say macro factors may still support prices in 2026

WGC says fundamentals will keep gold strong in 2026 as India drafts a long-term gold policy, with rising wedding budgets, ETF demand and a push to privatise monetisation schemes

Experts see near-term correction from profit-booking, but long-term bullishness intact

Silver physical demand is robust while gold jewellers targeting Gen Z with influencer collaborations

The US tariff hike on gems and jewellery exports from India has halted shipments, slashed market share and may lead to 1.25 lakh job losses in major export hubs

But despite the US hit, the Iran-Israel war is still going on, and Iran has threatened to attack US military installations in the Gulf

Demand for the yellow metal is ebbing as prices continue to soar

Exports will be badly hit in the next couple of months until the cost impact is analysed by US consumers and Indian exporters, said industry players

This is in tandem with international prices, which hit record highs and crossed $3,000 an ounce on Friday, say industry players. One ounce is approximately 28.35 gm

Consequent to high gold prices, the domestic jewellery industry also faced many challenges during the recently concluded Samvat

Conservative buyers gravitated toward Shagun coins, while younger ones chose lightweight or 18k jewellery

Flare-up in West Asia, US elections, further rate cuts by Fed may keep fuelling bullish trend, say experts

Diamond industry to also benefit from change in safe harbour rules

OPEC countries have enough oil which can potentially cap any sharp price increases

The gold price was Rs 28,430 per 10 gram a decade ago, up 141 per cent, giving a 9.2 per cent compounding annual return

What is worth observing for the Indian market is that since the last nine years, gold investors have made money each year, while in silver, gains have been consistent only in the last five years

Most base metals, except tin, have ended lower in the last two years

The government launched the first SGB in November 2015, and the first two issues have matured giving significantly high tax-free returns to investors

Indian cryptocurrency exchanges hope for a revival in sentiment as Bitcoin price is up nearly 50% in a month to over $66,000

High prices and previous year's base weighed on the precious metal