Silver rose to a record high, while gold edged up slightly, driven by rising geopolitical tensions and expectations of additional rate cuts by the Federal Reserve next year. The white metal jumped as much as 0.6% to reach $67.55 an ounce. Silver benefited from speculative flows in addition to continued tight supply after a historic wave of selling pressure that the market saw in October. Total trading volume on silver futures in Shanghai rose earlier this month to levels close to those recorded during the crisis a few months ago. Spot gold settled at around $4,365 an ounce, less than $20 off an all-time high, after rising over the past two weeks. Bets on two US rate cuts in 2026 Traders are betting the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates twice in 2026, after a series of economic data released last week failed to give a clearer picture of expectations. Low interest rates are usually a supportive factor for non-yielding precious metals. Geopolitical tensions have also strengthened the safe-haven appeal of precious metals. The United States tightened an oil blockade on Venezuela, increasing pressure on the government of President Nicolas Maduro, while Ukraine launched its first attack on an oil tanker belonging to the Russian “shadow fleet” in the Mediterranean. Also read: Washington is tracking a third oil tanker as Trump tightens blockade of Venezuela. A historic year for precious metals. Precious metals are on course for a historic year as both gold and silver are on track for their strongest annual gains since 1979. Silver prices have more than doubled, while gold has jumped by about two-thirds, supported by increased central bank purchases and money flowing into exchange-traded funds backed by gold. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, gold-backed exchange-traded funds have recorded increasing inflows for five consecutive weeks, while data from the World Gold Council shows that total holdings in these funds have risen in every month of this year except May. Meanwhile, silver has received support in recent weeks from rising demand, along with tightness and imbalances in large trading positions. Gold is expected to continue rising over the next year, according to Goldman Sachs analysts, including Dan Struyven and Samantha Dart, who wrote in a note issued late last week that the base case scenario indicated $4,900 an ounce with bullish factors. They added that ETF investors have begun to compete with central banks for limited amounts of gold. Silver rose 0.5% to $67.46 an ounce at 08:27 Singapore time. Gold rose 0.5% to $4,363.21 an ounce in flash trade, staying close to a record high that topped $4,381 in October. Platinum also rose, after jumping 2.5% on Friday, and palladium gained 1.5%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was largely stable.