Precious metals ​rounded out the year with blockbuster annual gains on Wednesday, with silver and platinum prices more than doubling and ⁠gold's run of record highs leading to its strongest performance in more than four decades.

On the day, prices slipped ⁠during a ‌holiday-subdued session. Spot gold fell 0.9% to $4,307.56 per ounce by 1219 GMT, a more than two-week low. U.S. gold futures for February delivery lost 1.5% to $4,318.90/oz. Gold prices have ⁠rocketed about 65% this year, their steepest annual rise since 1979, with the rally reflecting the impact of U.S. interest rate cuts and expectations of further monetary easing, geopolitical strains, heavy central bank buying, and robust ETF inflows.

But a round of profit-taking this week after the CME ⁠raised margins again on precious metal futures ​has knocked prices off their peaks.

"Gold is seeing heightened price volatility with crosscurrents from profit-taking, and some new positions being put on," ‍said independent analyst Ross Norman.

"The raising of margins on CME I think has put a very firm handbrake on what ​looked to be runaway prices with the white metals."

Spot silver lost 6.4% to $71.53 per ounce on Wednesday after hitting a record high of $83.62 on Monday.

Silver has gained more than 145% year-to-date, its strongest year ever and far outpacing gold. The rally has been driven by supply shortages, low inventories, rising industrial and investor appetite, and its recent designation as a critical mineral in the United States. Spot platinum fell 9.3% to $1,995.24 per ounce after rising to a lifetime high of $2,478.50 on Monday. It is up more than 110% for the year, also its strongest annual performance on record.

Palladium fell 1.8% to $1,581.94 per ounce ⁠but was up more than 60% for the year, its best ‌performance in 15 years.

"Tariffs, a desire to build domestic inventories and supply chain vulnerabilities has thrown the spotlight on certain key metals," Norman said.

"In 2026, we will see this issue becoming manifest, ‌not only through higher ⁠prices as nations outbid each other to build strategic stocks, but through other mechanisms to attract the necessary ⁠commodities."

(Reporting by Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru. Editing by Jane Merriman, Kirsten n Donovan)