This week, the precious metals market has been quite volatile. Let's start with gold. On January 13, it reached a record high of approximately $4,624/ounce, then immediately pulled back to around $4,622, with the intraday gain narrowing to 2.48%. The weekly increase was 4-5%, but from the high of $4,600 on January 12, there are clear signs of oscillation and adjustment.

Gold's performance can be described as "bumpy"—as the king of safe havens, it is supported by dual factors: central banks' diversified reserve allocations (emerging markets increasing holdings) and global debt concerns. However, the problem lies in the fact that global central banks hold over 80,000 tons of gold, a massive base that makes any large-scale sell-offs or policy shifts likely to amplify market volatility.

In contrast, silver has performed noticeably better. On January 13, it briefly broke through $85/ounce to hit a record high, then slightly adjusted to around $84.5, with a weekly increase of over 16%. Why is silver so strong? The key lies in its industrial properties—nearly 60% of its consumption is in solar panels, electric vehicles, AI chips, and other sectors. This gives silver much greater resilience during economic recovery cycles compared to gold. More importantly, there is a significant supply gap; by 2024, the cumulative deficit has reached 148.9 million ounces, further pushing prices higher.

Looking at copper, as a traditional "economic barometer," it also hit a historic high above $6/lb on January 13, then experienced a slight pullback, with a weekly increase of about 2-3%. The driving forces come from two aspects: first, supply-side tensions (Chile strikes, Indonesian disasters impacting production), and second, structural demand growth (upgrades in power grid infrastructure, expansion of data centers driving copper demand).

From the trend comparison, copper and silver are more similar—they rely more on industrial cycles and economic recovery expectations rather than purely safe-haven logic. This means that at this point in time, silver, as the most operationally flexible among precious metals, with both safe-haven attributes and industrial demand support, is indeed worth paying close attention to.