The outbreak of war in the Middle East has stoked the prospects for higher inflation, disrupted energy supply chains, boosted military spending and intensified geopolitical uncertainty. This should have carved out a bullish environment for precious metals as a safe haven. Instead, gold, silver, platinum and palladium prices have fallen sharply since the conflict began on February 28, adding to declines that began in the last week of January (Figure 1). So, what’s fueling this downtrend, and what are their prospects going forward? {chart} Several factors drove precious metals prices higher from early 2025 through late ... (full story)