Gold and Silver Advance to Open New Year as Index Selling Looms

Gold and silver rose as 2026 trading kicked off, building on their best annual performances since 1979.

Bullion approached $4,400 an ounce and silver gained more than 3%. While traders have flagged the metals could do well this year on further US interest-rate cuts and dollar weakness, there’s concern that a broad index rebalancing might pressure prices in the near term. Given the metals have rallied, passive tracking funds may sell some contracts to match new weightings.

Silver futures currently make up 9% of the Bloomberg Commodities Index, a widely tracked benchmark for a basket of commodities. That compares with a 2026 target weighting of just under 4%, meaning more than $5 billion of holdings will have to be sold in the five-day roll period starting next Thursday. Roughly $6 billion of gold futures are set to be sold.

“We expect a massive 13% of aggregate open interest in Comex silver markets will be sold over the coming two weeks, to result in a dramatic repricing lower,” Daniel Ghali, a senior commodity strategist at TD Securities, wrote in a note this week. Lower post-holiday liquidity may amplify price moves, he said.

Precious metals posted a ferocious run higher last year, though there was significant volatility in late December as some investors booked profits and trading metrics pointed to overbought conditions. Gold notched a series of records in 2025, aided by central-bank buying, easing Federal Reserve policy and a weaker US dollar. Demand for haven assets, driven by geopolitical tensions and trade frictions, also buoyed prices.