In the final week of the year, markets often resemble a waiting room: thin liquidity, half-formed decisions, and headlines with an outsized ability to move prices. On Monday, December 29, 2025, that mix translated into a sharp reversal for precious metals coming off historic highs, a rebound in oil prices, and a subdued session for U.S. equities.
The drop in gold and especially silver carried the classic signature of year-end book-closing: profit-taking after an extraordinary rally and portfolio repositioning ahead of the calendar turn. Silver, which at one point in the session had climbed above $80 an ounce, fell sharply; gold also retreated after stringing together recent highs. At the same time, other metals such as platinum and palladium posted even steeper declines, underscoring a market marked by excess leverage and heightened sensitivity to any technical adjustment.
Behind the move was also a microstructure factor: higher margin requirements for metals futures announced by CME, which made it more expensive to hold leveraged positions and forced rapid liquidations in markets already thinned by the season.
Wall Street mirrored the mood. All three major indexes closed lower, pressured by a pullback in technology stocks after weeks of strong gains. Even so, the broader backdrop remains that of a year with solid returns, where the dominant narrative artificial intelligence, expectations of rate cuts, and economic resilience competes with concerns over stretched valuations and year-end volatility.
In currency markets, the dollar traded cautiously. After rebounding in Friday’s session, it began the week near nearly three-month lows, reflecting the weight of bets on further Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026.
Oil, by contrast, rose about 2%, offering some relief to the energy sector. Markets interpreted diplomatic back-and-forth over Ukraine as a factor that could shift the geopolitical risk balance and, by extension, supply premiums just as the 2026 debate increasingly centers on whether a global surplus is on the horizon.