Precious Metals Price Update: Gold, Silver, PGMs Face Another Bumpy Week
Precious metals prices continued to face downward pressure this week as investors took strong US economic data and a changing geopolitical landscape into consideration.
After climbing to fresh all-time highs at the start of 2026, a myriad of factors in February have seemingly taken the sails out gold, silver and platinum prices. However, the underlying fundamentals for the precious metals remain strong, resulting in a resiliency that lends optimism to higher price points to come in 2026.
Let’s take a look at what got spot prices moving over the past week.
Gold price
Gold hit a record high of close to US$5,600 per ounce at the end of January before sliding into one of the largest price drops in decades, dipping as low as US$4,400 as February kicked off.
Over the past week, the metal has oscillated between slumps and cautious recovery. The spot price lost the battle to remain above the key US$5,000 mark in morning trading on February 12, falling to an intraday low of US$4,907.41. February 13 saw gold rebound slightly and trade in a tight range between US$5,000 and US$5,040.
Gold couldn’t hold that level on Monday (February 16), and the next day it began sliding below the US$4,900 support level. Wednesday (February 18) brought some relief, with gold once again fighting to stay above US$5,000.
Gold price chart, February 12, 2026 to February 18, 2026.
Chart via the Investing News Network.
The primary drivers for gold this past week are:
- The US labor market continues to display resilience, with February 12 nonfarm payroll data beating expectations. A stronger economy puts a damper on immediate Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
- However, US consumer price index data released on February 13 shows inflation at softer-than-expected levels, lifting the scales for a rate cut back up — hence the seesaw in gold this week.
- On the geopolitical front, leaders involved in the US-Iran conflict have seemingly pumped the brakes this week. Nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran are reportedly making progress. An easing of global tensions reduces safe-haven demand for gold.
- Seasonal liquidity is also at play this week as the Lunar New Year holiday, which runs from February 16 to 23, typically results in lower trading volumes.
In other gold news, the 2026 TSX Venture 50 list was released on Wednesday, with several gold companies named as top performers. The top five gold stocks on the list are: 1911 Gold (TSXV:AUMB,OTCQB:AUMBF), TDG Gold (TSXV:TDG,OTCQX:TDGGF), Omai Gold Mines (TSXV:OMG,OTCQB:OMGGF), Prospector Metals (TSXV:PPP,OTCQB:PMCOF) and Goldgroup Mining (TSXV:GGA,OTCQX:GGAZF).
Silver price
Silver has broadly tracked gold’s price movements over the past week.
However, the white metal has exhibited significantly higher volatility, and the silver spot price is far outside of striking range of its all-time high of more than US$121 per…
Read More: Precious Metals Price Update: Gold, Silver, PGMs Face Another Bumpy Week