By Joe Wallace

One of markets' longest-standing records is lying in the dust.

For more than four decades, gold's high from early 1980 remained the pinnacle if you adjusted prices for subsequent inflation. Gold finally hit a new real, inflation-adjusted high last year, and is now well above that peak having risen 17% in 2026 and 83% over the past 12 months.

At the start of 1980, the Federal Reserve, under Paul Volcker, was jacking up interest rates to vanquish inflation. Consumer prices aren't rising so fast these days. But investors worry Chair Jerome Powell's successor, instead of showing Volckerian resolve, will hew toward President Trump's desire for lower interest rates.

That concern is one reason for gold's rapid ascent. Also helping: tensions with America's allies and gold purchases by foreign central banks in countries trying to insulate themselves against the threat of sanctions.

Silver's rise has been even more precipitous of late. Along with rampant demand of perceived havens, renewable-energy companies have devoured the metal to make solar panels, encouraging a speculative frenzy.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 26, 2026 06:32 ET (11:32 GMT)

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