Gold and Silver Price Trends in the Post-COVID Era

Gold and silver have experienced dramatic price swings over the past several years. The disruptive shock from the pandemic to inflation spikes, central bank policy shifts, and geopolitical unrest, these two metals have responded in ways that reveal how they behave under pressure. We break down how these key moments impacted the market.

2020 – Pandemic Panic and Stimulus Boom:

In 2020, COVID-19 shook the world. Gold initially dipped amid the market panic as investors liquidated, but quickly rebounded soon after. In August 2020, gold reached a then-record high of around $2,070/oz, primarily driven by extremely low interest rates, a massive stimulus, and economic uncertainty. Silver had an even wilder ride: it crashed to ~$12 in March 2020 during the worst of the panic, then skyrocketed to about $29/oz by August 2020 – that’s over a 100% increase in a matter of months. Drivers for silver included safe-haven demand (once the dust settled) and optimism that industrial demand would recover with all the stimulus and eventually vaccine-driven reopening. Inflation-hedge buying was significant, even though inflation didn’t show up immediately – investors anticipated that unprecedented money printing would eventually devalue currencies, boosting the prices of precious metals.

2021 – Economic Recovery and Rate Jitters:

With vaccines rolling out and economies reopening, 2021 saw a strong recovery. This brought expectations that the easy-money policies would wind down. Indeed, late in 2021, the Fed signaled it would start tapering asset purchases and consider raising rates to combat emerging inflation. Gold prices, which began 2021 high, cooled off and ranged roughly between $1,700 and $1,900 most of the year, ending a bit down from the peak as higher real yields began to loom. Silver similarly traded in the $22–$27 range in 2021, coming off its 2020 highs. A notable blip: In January 2021, the so-called “Reddit silver squeeze” (a social media-fueled attempt to drive up silver prices) briefly spiked prices toward $30, but the surge was short-lived ¹. Overall, 2021 was a consolidation year for metals – strong economic growth (good for silver’s industrial side) but also rising rate expectations (capping the upside for both metals). Inflation started to pick up in the second half of 2021, which set the stage for 2022.

2022- Inflation Soars and Geopolitical Shock:

By 2022, inflation had become the big story – hitting nearly 40-year highs in many countries. Typically, this would be extremely bullish for gold, but the offsetting force was the Fed’s reaction: an aggressive series of interest rate hikes.

In the first half of 2022, gold actually rallied to near-record levels around $2,050 in March when Russia invaded Ukraine (the war sparked a rush into safe havens and commodities), demonstrating gold’s crisis appeal. Silver rose too, reaching about $27/oz at its spring 2022 highs. However, as the Fed kept raising rates sharply through mid-2022, the dollar strengthened and real yields jumped, which pushed gold down.

By autumn 2022, gold briefly fell below $1,650 (a significant pullback) as investors favored the surging dollar and high-yield bonds. Silver fell to around $18 at its low. Later in 2022, some support returned as investors noted central banks (like China, Russia, and others) buying lots of gold, and as inflation, while still high, started leveling off. By year-end, gold was recovering toward $1,800 and silver around $23. Central bank demand was a significant undercurrent this year – the geopolitical tensions made many countries rethink reserve assets, boosting gold purchases ².

2023- Banking Wobbles and Rate Peak Hopes:

2023 saw interest rates still rising (the Fed hiked a bit more), but the bulk of tightening was done by mid-year. Inflation began gradually easing. In March 2023, a mini banking crisis (with several U.S. regional banks failing and Credit Suisse turmoil in Europe) sent gold shooting back above $2,000 as a safe haven. Once again, gold neared its record high. Silver also jumped, reaching the mid-$20s. Through 2023, gold prices fluctuated, but made a series of gains as the market started to anticipate the end of Fed rate hikes and the possibility of cuts in 2024.

By late 2023, gold was trending upward strongly, breaking past the $2,100 mark to set new all-time highs. One headline captured the moment: “Gold scaled a record high… in a rally sparked by growing bets for a U.S. interest rate cut,” among other factors, according to ³. Indeed, the expectation that rate hikes were over and cuts were coming ignited a gold rally. Silver rode along and by the end of 2023 had logged solid gains for the year, though it still lagged behind its own record (about $50 in 2011).

2024 – Record Highs and a Silver Surge:

In 2024, gold’s momentum really took off. Multiple factors converged: inflation was still above target (even if lower than 2022), the Fed paused and talked of eventual cuts, geopolitical worries persisted (including new Middle East tensions), and central banks kept buying gold. By May 2024, gold hit an all-time peak of around $2,450/oz amid what was dubbed a “perfect storm” of bullish drivers ⁴. One Reuters summary noted that “a cocktail of factors from U.S. rate cut expectations, China’s stimulus measures, to geopolitical tensions,” pushed gold to that high ⁵.

Silver also shone: it broke above $30/oz for the first time in about 10 years, hitting an 11-year peak around $32 in May 2024 ^{6 7}. In fact, silver was one of the best-performing assets – it ended 2024 up about 21% for the year ^{8 9}. Drivers for silver included not just tagging along with gold’s safe-haven demand, but also optimism about industrial demand (China’s economic stimulus and a global focus on solar energy, etc., which is silver-positive). Investors were also eyeing the gold-silver ratio, and as gold ran to records, some rotated into relatively undervalued silver, adding fuel to silver’s move.

Early 2025 – New Heights and Volatility:

By early 2025, gold was still climbing, smashing through the $3,000/oz milestone. Reports in April 2025 showed gold up more than $400 in just the first few months of 2025, reaching around $3,167/oz for a fresh record high ¹⁰. This was attributed to strong safe-haven demand and central bank buying in the face of continued global instability ¹¹.

A flare-up in trade tensions (U.S. imposing hefty tariffs) also contributed, as investors feared economic fallout and higher inflation ^{12 13}. Silver at this time was rallying too – by February 2025 it was around $33–$34/oz, its highest levels since late 2014, and analysts speculated it could challenge $35 if the gold rally kept going ^{14 15}. It had gained roughly 14% in the first weeks of 2025 after a 21% rise in 2024 ¹⁶. However, true to form, silver’s ride was bumpier. Traders warned that silver’s volatility was still high, and that, unlike gold, it hadn’t made a new all-time high in 2024 (silver’s all-time high is near $50 in 2011). The gold-to-silver ratio dropped into the 80s as silver outpaced gold for a bit, but remained above historical norms, suggesting to some that silver still had room to run if conditions stayed favorable.

The past five years have shown just how reactive gold and silver can be to the world around us. From pandemic panic to monetary policy shifts and global uncertainty, these metals continue to reflect the economic mood in real time. Check out more posts in our series like, How Interest Rates Impact Gold and Silver or What Influences Silver Prices, to get a deeper understanding of what drives precious metals.

If you’re wondering what your old gold and silver is worth today, visit one of our locations for a free, no-pressure evaluation.