Investing in gold and silver has never been more popular. Investor sentiment has shrugged off last month’s sudden volatility ahead of the Middle East war, even as prices swing sharply on currency moves and interest rate expectations, writes Adrian Ash at world-leading marketplace BullionVault.
So far in 2026, the daily count of first-time investors on BullionVault is running 559.2% ahead of the previous 10 years’ daily average. The platform, which finds nine in 10 of its global client base in Western Europe and North America, now holds over $10.7 billion in physical precious metals for its users (£7.9bn, €9.1bn, JPY1.6 trillion).
That surge in new demand has pushed the number of people who own securely stored gold almost one-fifth higher from this time last year (+19.6%). The number of silver owners has jumped by 40.1% (+40.1%), the fastest pace since spring 2021, which marked the first anniversary of the pandemic lockdowns.
Ahead of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, bullion markets swung violently in February, with gold recording its nastiest volatility since the Lehman Brothers crash of 2008. Yet the so-called safe-haven metal still rose to a new monthly-average record of $5,019 per troy ounce, its seventh consecutive all-time high in US dollar terms (the 19th in a row in UK pounds at £3,696, and the sixth in euros at €4,245).
Silver’s ride was even wilder. February saw volatility jump to the most extreme levels since 1987. However, it was the first month in six in which silver failed to set a new monthly-average record in US dollar terms, dropping 10.4% to $82.55 per ounce. That marked the first monthly decline in nine months across dollar, pound and euro prices.
As the US-Israel conflict with Iran escalated, gold fell 1.4% to $5,252.05 an ounce, while US gold futures slipped 0.9% to $5,263.80. Silver dropped 6.5% to $83.63 after touching a four-week high. Platinum and palladium also declined sharply. At first glance, falling prices during rising geopolitical tension may seem counterintuitive. But short-term conflict rarely drives bullion higher in isolation. Instead, currency strength and monetary policy expectations are currently dominating price action.
The US dollar has climbed to a more than one-month high, making dollar-priced metals more expensive for overseas buyers and dampening global demand. At the same time, markets have increased bets that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates steady for longer, with the odds of a June rate hold rising above 60%, according to CME FedWatch data.
Higher interest rate expectations tend to pressure non-yielding assets such as gold and silver, which do not offer income. Rising oil and gas shipping costs linked to tensions near the Strait of Hormuz have added to inflation fears, reinforcing expectations that central banks may remain cautious about cutting rates. In addition, profit-taking has played a role, especially in silver. After surging to an all-time high of $129.64 per ounce in January, silver remains more than 161% higher year-on-year despite recent pullbacks. Gold, which reached a record $5,594.82, is still dramatically higher than a year ago, even after its latest dip.
Despite the price retreat, investor demand on BullionVault remains robust. The total number of people buying gold fell 14.1% in February from January’s record count, while the number of sellers dropped 31.1% from its own record high. The Global Gold Investor Index edged just 0.1 points below January’s 62-month high, reading 58.4. The total number of gold owners rose again, setting a ninth consecutive all-time high as March began. Silver buying also cooled from January’s record, down 20.7%, while sellers fell 35.2%. The Silver Investor Index slipped to 63.7 from January’s 69-month peak. Crucially, investor demand for silver outweighed profit-taking for the first time in six months, lifting total client holdings 0.6% higher to 1,332 tonnes, now worth $3.2 billion, up 184.2% from a year earlier.
Gold holdings by weight fell 0.3% in February, marking a fourth monthly decline and leaving total holdings just below 43.4 tonnes, the lightest in 69 months. Yet, by value, those holdings have surged 80.9% year-on-year to a record of over $7.2 billion.
In short, existing owners are using price spikes to take modest profits, while new investors are using dips to initiate or build positions. The value of physical metal traded on BullionVault retreated 29.1% in February from January’s record above $1.1 billion, totaling $789 million. Even so, that level of activity remains historically elevated. February would have set a new record for first-time precious metal buyers had it not followed January’s extraordinary surge.
Looking ahead, the key question for markets is whether precious metals will resume their climb or remain under pressure. In the short term, a stronger dollar and firm interest rate expectations could keep prices volatile. But if geopolitical tensions intensify or inflation data surprises to the upside, safe-haven demand may quickly return. Some analysts suggest gold could test $5,600 per ounce if there are no signs of de-escalation in the Middle East.
More importantly, the long-term drivers of today’s precious metals bull market remain firmly in place: ballooning government debt, persistent inflation concerns, fears of overvalued technology stocks, and a broader breakdown in geopolitical order. In a year defined by uncertainty, gold and silver have reached record after record. Even as prices pull back amid dollar strength and rate worries, investor appetite shows little sign of fading.
Gold and silver have never been more popular in the 21 years since BullionVault first opened. And while short-term volatility may test nerves, the strategic case for holding hard assets appears stronger than ever.