Kamal Ghorui
Silver prices surged to an all-time high in the national capital on Monday, crossing the psychologically significant Rs 3 lakh-per-kg mark, while gold also scaled a new record, as heightened geopolitical tensions and tariff-related uncertainty fuelled strong safe-haven demand, PTI reported.According to market participants, silver jumped by Rs 10,000 in a single session to trade at Rs 3,02,600 per kg, up from its previous close of Rs 2,92,600 per kg. With this rally, silver has gained Rs 63,600, or 26.61 per cent, so far this year, rising sharply from Rs 2,39,000 per kg at the end of 2025.Gold, too, extended its upward momentum in the local bullion market. Prices of the yellow metal climbed Rs 1,900 to touch a fresh lifetime high of Rs 1,48,100 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes), compared with Rs 1,46,200 per 10 grams in the previous session. Since the start of 2026, gold has rallied Rs 10,400, or 7.55 per cent, from Rs 1,37,700 per 10 grams recorded on December 31, 2025.Analysts attributed the sharp gains in precious metals to rising global uncertainty following fresh tariff threats by US President Donald Trump.“Gold and silver surged to fresh record highs on Monday, driven by geopolitical tensions and escalating tariff-related uncertainty after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs on several European countries over the weekend,” said Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst – Commodities at HDFC Securities.Internationally, precious metals mirrored the domestic rally. Spot silver rose to a record USD 94.13 per ounce, while gold climbed to an all-time high of USD 4,690.80 per ounce, according to data from forex.com.“Spot gold hit a fresh record high of USD 4,690 per ounce in the global markets on safe-haven demand as Trump announced a 10 per cent tariff on eight EU nations in retaliation for their opposition to his Greenland initiative,” said Praveen Singh, Head of Commodities at Mirae Asset ShareKhan.Over the weekend, Trump warned of imposing a 10 per cent tariff from February 1 on goods imported from European countries including Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, the UK and Norway. The tariff is proposed to rise to 25 per cent from June 1, 2026, and would remain in force until an agreement is reached on Greenland.Singh noted that such tariff-linked moves risk destabilising long-standing geopolitical arrangements and have raised fears of retaliation by European nations, adding to global market uncertainty.“This has pushed investors towards safe-haven assets as tariff-related risks come back into focus,” Gandhi added.The surge in gold and silver underscores how quickly precious metals are responding to geopolitical and trade-policy signals, with investors seeking protection amid renewed volatility in global markets.
