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Key Takeaways
- Gold and silver prices are back near record highs after the U.S. removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from office and brought him to the U.S. to face criminal charges.
- The developments in Venezuela have heightened geopolitical uncertainty, giving a boost to safe haven investments such as precious metals.
One week after a previous rally stalled, gold and silver prices have marched higher again in the wake of the ouster of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
Since Maduro’s weekend capture by the U.S. military, gold has gained about 4% this week, nearing its record-high spot price of around $4,540 per troy ounce from Dec. 26. Silver has risen more than 10%, once again topping the $80-per-ounce threshold.
Gold and silver stumbled last week after exchange operator CME Group expanded margin requirements on its gold and silver futures contracts, requiring traders to put more up-front cash on their precious metal price bets.
But the upward momentum resumed as Maduro’s capture again clouded the global geopolitical outlook. Geopolitical and economic uncertainty last year helped feed the biggest rally in precious metals in more than four decades.
Investors are turning to precious metals as stores of value amid concerns about the potential fallout from Maduro’s arrest and uncertainty about what the Trump administration will do next.
It’s unclear what role the U.S. government will play in restoring stability in Venezuela. President Donald Trump on Saturday said that the U.S. would “run” the South American country until an orderly transition is possible, and that U.S. oil companies would rebuild Venezuela’s crumbling oil infrastructure.
Meanwhile, since capturing Maduro to face criminal charges in the U.S., Trump has appeared to threaten Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and the White House has said that the administration is considering a “range of options” to acquire Greenland, including use of the military.
Gold and silver rallied even as U.S. stock investors shrugged off the latest geopolitical turmoil. The S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached record highs Tuesday.
