Gold posts about 64% annual gain; best performance since 1979

February gold futures fell 1% to $4,341.1 an ounce

Gold prices fell at the close of Wednesday’s session but posted strong annual gains, supported by increased demand for safe-haven assets amid a turbulent global economic and geopolitical backdrop, as well as monetary easing efforts in the United States and several other countries.

February gold futures fell 1%, or $45.2, to $4,341.1 an ounce at the end of the final trading session of 2025.

The precious metal, however, recorded annual gains of 63.52%, its strongest performance since 1979, and rose 2% over December.

A combination of factors drove gold’s sharp rise in 2025, including US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, global geopolitical tensions, strong central bank buying, and capital inflows into gold exchange-traded funds.

The most actively traded gold contracts logged 52 record closes in 2025, the latest on Friday, though the metal faced profit-taking toward the end of the year.