Precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, came under heavy selling pressure during the 100-day period of the US-Israel-Iran war amid sharp market fluctuations.
Gold, silver, and platinum saw record highs in January, but the positive trend reversed with the start of the war at the end of February.
Concerns over the conflict intensifying inflationary pressures fueled hawkish expectations from the Fed, leading to a sharp decline across the metals.
Escalating tensions in the region, occurring during an uncertain environment over trade policy, reinforced concerns that rising oil prices could further fuel inflationary pressures.
Rising bond yields due to inflation concerns put additional pressure on commodities, while investors seeking to avoid risks and opt for liquidity strengthened the US dollar.
Concerns over global economic activity amid geopolitical risks led to sharp declines across silver, platinum, and palladium — three metals widely used in the industrial sector.
Gold started the year at $4,313 per ounce and hit a record of $5,600 in January, ending the month at a 12.4% gain at $4,849, while the positive trend extended into February.
Gold ended February with an 8.5% rise at $5,263 per ounce but fell as low as $4,099 in March due to developments in the Middle East, ending the month with an 11.32% decline at $4,667, the sharpest monthly drop since the 2008 financial crisis.
The ounce price of gold lost 1% in April and 1.77% in May, closing the month at $4,540.
Gold closed June 5, the last trading day before the 100th day of the war, at $4,328.6 per ounce, down 17.8% versus pre-war levels.
Silver, which is widely used in industrial applications, especially in solar panels, was affected by the developments in gold prices.
The precious metal started the year at $71 per ounce and hit a record of $121.7 in January, closing the month at $83.3, up 17.2%, and just like gold, extending the positive trend into February.
Silver ended February with a 12.6% gain at $93.8 per ounce but sharply fell next month, falling as low as $61 per ounce in March, ending the month with a 19.9% decline at $75.1, and closing April down 1.8% at $73.7.
Silver rebounded 2.1% to $75.3 per ounce at the end of May but it closed at $67.9 on June 5, marking a 27.6% decline versus pre-war levels.
At the same time, platinum started 2026 at $2,054 per ounce, reaching an all-time high at $2,923.3 in January amid supply constraints.
Platinum closed the month at $2,182.2 per ounce, up 6.2%, and closed February with an 8.5% rise at $2,366.5.
The precious metal fell 17.2% over the 100-day period, ending at $1,960.1 per ounce.
As for platinum, the metal rose 1.6% in April to $1,991.4 per ounce but fell to $1,922.6 in May.
Platinum fell 24.8% versus Feb. 27, reaching $1,779 per ounce on June 5.
Palladium started the year at $1,603 per ounce, rose 7% in January to $1,713.3 and 4.4% the next month to $1,788.7.
March saw palladium drop 17% to $1,484.8 per ounce, then rebound 3.3% in April to $1,533.9.
Palladium declined 11.4% in May to $1,359.6 per ounce and lost 31.1% compared to the pre-war levels, dropping to $1,232.3 as of June 5.
*Writing by Emir Yildirim
