Precious Metals News: Tug-of-War Still at Play for Gold and Sister Metals

Gold price news

Gold prices between May 14 and May 20, 2026 were squeezed by high inflation and rising bond yields before mounting a rebound on easing US-Iran tensions and falling energy prices.

The precious metal is trading in the US$4,450 to US$4,550 per ounce range.

Gold slipped below the US$4,700 per ounce on May 14 following the previous day’s release of the US Bureau of Labor’s Producer Price Index (PPI) which showed an annualized rate of wholesale inflation for April of 6 percent. The data put another nail in the coffin for any near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts. India hiked import tariffs on gold to 15 percent to defend foreign exchange reserves, placing further pressure on the yellow metal. Gold closed at US$4,652.32 per ounce.

On Friday, May 15, gold continued its slide and dropped below the US$4,600 mark in the early morning trade, sinking to an intraday low of US$4,512.11 per ounce. The metal managed to close at US$4,540.24 per ounce. The drop was a part of a broader global market sell-off as the US dollar surged, benchmark 10-year Treasury yields moved toward one-year highs, and worsening oil supply fears kept energy prices elevated.

Monday, May 18, after falling as low as US$4,512.11 mid-day, gold prices stabilized later in the session to close at US$4,566.23 per ounce. The yellow metal found support from news the US may have offered Iran a possible temporary waiver on oil sanctions in order to open the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump added to the easing of tensions with comments that he was holding off on planned military strikes as negotiations played out.

Hope for the lifting of sanctions faded the following day, sending Treasury yields higher. Gold slipped below the US$4,500 level in the morning session to an intraday low of US$4,472,21 and later closed at US$4,483.91 per ounce.

On Wednesday (May 20), the price of gold rebounded to an intraday high of US$4,550 per ounce. following comments from President Trump that the war with Iran was in its final stage. Lower oil gave some relief to future inflation fears and knocked US Treasury yields down. The metal closed out the day at US$4,543.77 per ounce.

“Beyond the Iran war, China has been reducing the risk of holding US Treasuries for years, replacing part of its UST reserves with gold. The latter – echoed by other central banks – is expected to maintain gold’s positive longer-term trend,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote stated in a market commentary shared with the Investing News Network (INN).

“In the short run, however, gold remains under pressure from rising yields – higher sovereign yields increase the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-bearing gold, making the yellow metal relatively less attractive compared to fixed-income assets. I believe every tick lower is an opportunity to strengthen a long-term bullish position,” she added.

Gold prices lost more than 3 percent compared to the previous Wednesday close (May 13), and remained down about 18 percent from the US$5,589.38 per ounce reached on January 28.

By 10:00 a.m. PDT Thursday, gold prices had retreated further to US$4,519.62 per ounce as the chances of a peace deal in the US-Iran war faded once again and the release of Fed Reserve meeting minutes showed that a rate hike this year is not off the table.

Despite the yellow metal currently consolidating around the US$4,500 to US$4,600 per ounce range, gold price forecasts out this month show that many of the top financial institutions remain highly bullish on gold's long-term outlook.

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) may have lowered its 2026 average gold price forecast to US$5,243 per ounce (down from a prior estimate of US$5,708 per ounce), however the bank has maintained its base case target of around US$6,000 per ounce by the end of the year on expectations the demand will speed up in the second half.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reaffirmed its US$5,400 per ounce gold price targets for year-end citing robust central bank demand. Meanwhile, Swiss bank Lombard Odier reiterated its 12-month price target for gold at US$5,400 per ounce as cooling short-term investor sentiment does not break the structural case for the yellow metal.

Although it sees average prices for the year at US$4,500 per ounce, Swiss precious metals bullion trader MKS PAMP is calling for a new all-time high of US$5,800 gold by the end of 2026 on structural stagflationary pressures.

In gold mining news, Equinox Gold (TSX:EQX,NYSEAMERICAN:EQX) and Orla Mining Ltd. (NYSE:ORLA) have agreed to an all-stock merger to forge a US$18.5 billion North American gold titan. The deal combines Equinox’s Greenstone and Valentine mines with Orla’s Musselwhite asset to become Canada’s second-largest gold producer, with projected domestic output of 685,000 ounces this year.

Silver price news

Silver prices experienced even more intense volatility than gold between May 14 and May 21 to trade in the US$73 to US$83 range. The white metal's dual nature as both a monetary asset and a significant industrial commodity makes it more susceptible to larger price swings in the face of higher inflation threatening global economics.

On May 14, silver had closed at US$83.51 per ounce only to collapse harder than gold, falling below the US$80 mark in the morning session the following day with a close of US$75.98 per ounce. Investors were keen on taking profits from the price rally earlier in the month.

Silver prices continued to trade in the US$76 to US$77 range on Monday, May 18 after hitting a high of US$78.16 per ounce in the early morning trade. Strong physical buying from Asian markets helped support the US$75 floor and prevented a deeper collapse.

However, that floor of support did collapse on Tuesday when silver fell below US$75 in the early morning trade before falling further to close at US$73.70 per ounce.

Wednesday’s session brought relief alongside gold’s rebound as silver reached an intraday high of US$76.63 per ounce in the morning before later closing at US$75.86 per ounce.

The silver price shaved off more than 13 percent since the previous Wednesday close (May 13), and remained down more than 37 percent from its all-time high of US$121.62 per ounce, which it set on January 29.

By 10:00 a.m. PDT Thursday, silver prices had picked up a bit of ground to US$76.02 per ounce.

As for silver price forecasts, some major banks may be trimming their near-term price targets, but long-term targets remain exceptionally bullish.

JP Morgan is eyeing US$90 silver in the fourth quarter of 2026 with an average price of US$81 per ounce for the full-year. The bank sees silver’s supply tightness easing but believes demand for gold will benefit the white metal’s safe-haven appeal.

UBS also expects silver’s supply deficit to narrow significantly this year, and has revised down its Q2 2026 silver price forecast from US$100 to US$85 by the end of the quarter. It also lowered its 2026 year-end target to US$80 from US$85, and its March 2027 forecast is now at US$75 from US$85.

HSBC raised its silver forecasts significantly, predicting an average price of US$75 per ounce for 2026 and $68 per ounce for 2027, up from its previous estimates of US$68.25 and US$57, respectively.

In silver mining news, Elemental Royalty (TSX:ELE,NASDAQ:ELE,OTCQX:ELEMF) acquired Vizsla Royalties in a US$239 million deal that includes exposure to the Mexico-based Panuco silver-gold project through an uncapped 2 to 3.5 percent net smelter return royalty. Panuco is one of the world's largest high-grade silver developments.

Platinum price news

Platinum tracked its fellow precious metals in another week of see-sawing on the push and pull of the US-Iran war and its potential impact on inflation and the global economy. The metal is used heavily in industrial applications, especially vehicle autocatalysts, and its daily movements reflected a tug-of-war between macroeconomic challenges and tight global supply. Selling pressure accelerated due to weak economic data out of China, a massive consumer of industrial platinum.

After closing out May 14 at US$2,069.70 per ounce, the price of platinum spent the rest of the week fighting to get back above the US$2,000 level.

Platinum dropped to an intraday low of US$1,974.40 on Friday, May 15 before a close of US$1,982.50 per ounce.

On Monday, May 18, platinum traded in a tight range after reaching an intraday high of US$1,996.70 before closing at US$1,986.30 per ounce. Platinum prices showed signs of stabilization following the release of the World Platinum Investment Council’s (WPIC) Platinum Quarterly report prepared by Metals Focus which projects a 2026 global deficit forecast of 297,000 ounces, and the potential for above ground supply to cover less than three months of global demand by the end of the year.

Tuesday’s concerns of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East in the resulting high energy prices stoked fears of a hit to the automotive industry. Platinum prices tumbled to a low of US$1,928.10 before a close of US$1,931.10 per ounce.

Platinum prices stabilized on Wednesday alongside the broader trend in the precious metals complex. The metal hit an intraday high of US$1,968.70 before a close of US$1,959.80 per ounce.

Platinum prices were down more than 9.5 percent over the period, and well off its January 2026 all-time high near US$2,924 per ounce.

On Thursday morning prices for platinum picked up along with silver. By 10:00 a.m. PDT, the price of platinum was trading at US$1,966.60 per ounce.

Platinum prices are benefitting from persistent mine supply deficits out of South African and Russian alongside booming autocatalyst and hybrid vehicle demand. In addition, the metal is experiencing resilient demand as consumers interested in non-ICE vehicles are switching to hybrids over pure electric and new industrial uses are emerging in hydrogen and AI technologies.

Analysts are highly bullish on platinum, pointing to a massive, underappreciated structural deficit that will likely force a major breakout in the second-half of the year.

Metals Focus is forecasting that platinum prices will average US$2,190 an ounce in 2027 as the market remains in structural deficit. The firm also acknowledges that investors are increasingly treating platinum as both a precious metal and an industrial metal.

In other platinum news, South Africa's Valterra Platinum (LSE:VALT,JSE:VAL,OTCPL:AGPPF) reported its inventory levels of critical operational inputs, such as diesel and lubricants, are well stocked despite the US-Iran war.

Palladium price news

Palladium prices are also in the dump this past week as the metal sharply declined to below the US$1,400 level. Along with the other platinum group metals (PGM), palladium was caught up in the squeeze brought about by hot US inflation data and a strong dollar. However, persistent industrial demand and ongoing mining bottlenecks in South Africa and Russia helped to provide a floor.

The price of palladium closed at US$1,461 per ounce on Thursday, May 14, and fell as low as US$1,420.50 on Friday morning on the fear that high interest rates would cool global manufacturing and auto-catalyst fabrication. It closed up slightly at US$1,427 per ounce.

After dropping further to US$1,404 per ounce in the morning trade Monday, the metal remained rangebound for much of the remaining session before a close of US$1,424.50 per ounce. Like its sister PGM, palladium gained support from the Platinum Quarterly report’s identification of continued tightness in the market.

Palladium tracked the precious metals complex further down on Tuesday, slipping below the US$1,400 level in the early morning to as low as US$1,354.50. The metal closed out the day at US$1,365 per ounce. Ongoing tensions in the Middle East spiked energy costs, renewing fears of an industrial margin squeeze for global automotive manufacturers.

Palladium didn’t rally as well as its sister metals on Wednesday as it failed to regain a foothold above the US$1,400, only touching as high as US$1,391 in the morning with a closing price of US$1,377 per ounce.

Palladium prices were down more than 9.5 percent over the period, and trading at only about a third of its March 2022 all-time high near US$3,440 per ounce.

On Thursday, May 21, palladium had ticked up to US$1,387 per ounce as of 10:00 a.m. PDT.

Metals Focus projected palladium prices to average US$1,570 per ounce for 2026 despite structural headwinds from the automotive sector. That’s because palladium remains in a severe supply side crunch as global PGM mine production is expected to drop another 2.2 percent this year.