In the first half of 2026, the precious metals market experienced a violent switch from a unilateral rise to a deep adjustment. In January, factors such as fiscal credit concerns, the trend of de-dollarization, geopolitical risks and low inventories jointly pushed prices to accelerate upward, with gold once hitting a record high of US$5,598 per ounce. Since then, the crowded trade has cleared and monetary policy expectations have shifted, with the maximum retracement of gold prices exceeding 30%. As of July 21, spot gold has stabilized above the key mark of $4,000 per ounce. The fluctuations of silver are even more severe - in January, the spot silver price exceeded 100 US dollars per ounce, breaking through the historical high of 46 years ago; in July, it halved to 15,220 yuan per kilogram.

This kind of skyrocketing rise and fall is by no means accidental, but a concentrated reflection of the dual attributes of precious metals - gold's monetary and safe-haven attributes, and silver's financial and industrial attributes - in different macro environments. Understanding these attributes and the supply and demand fundamentals behind them is the real key to grasping the precious metals market.

1. Gold: The triple game of interest rate expectations, U.S. dollar credit and central bank gold purchases

Gold is priced in U.S. dollars, and the strength of the U.S. dollar and liquidity cycles are the core keys that influence gold prices. In the first half of 2026, multiple factors worked together to strengthen the U.S. dollar: a slight rebound in inflation coupled with the Federal Reserve's balance sheet reduction signal, tightening U.S. dollar liquidity, significantly raising the cost of gold holdings; the Trump administration's efforts to rebuild the U.S. dollar's credit, driving the U.S. dollar index to continue to strengthen. Traditional hedging logic is almost ineffective - when tensions in the Middle East were tense in March, the price of gold fell instead of rising.

However, gold's long-term logic remains undiminished. High global debt, high deficits and rising interest payments continue to weaken the long-term real returns of sovereign credit assets. Geographical fragmentation and reserve diversification continue to increase the strategic allocation value of gold. In the first quarter of 2026, global central banks net purchased approximately 244 tons of gold, an increase of 17% from the previous quarter; the People's Bank of China has purchased gold for 20 consecutive months. As institutions have pointed out, gold is gradually evolving into an important asset for hedging sovereign credit risks, geopolitical fragmentation risks and risks of restructuring the global monetary system.

2. Silver: Industrial attributes reshape pricing logic

The special thing about silver is that it has the dual properties of both a precious metal and an industrial metal. In the past few decades, investment demand dominated silver prices; now, industrial applications have replaced investment as the main demand for silver.

The photovoltaic industry is the absolute main force behind demand growth. Under technological iteration, the silver consumption of traditional PERC batteries is about 10 mg/W, while that of HJT batteries is as high as more than 22 mg/W. AI servers and new energy vehicles have also become important additions - the connectors and thermal conductive materials of AI hardware need to use silver to ensure high-speed transmission, and the silver consumption of a new energy vehicle is about twice that of a fuel vehicle.

The supply side has shown continued rigidity. 70% of the world's silver is a by-product of lead, zinc, copper, and gold mines; the grade of the world's major silver mines has dropped from about 120 grams/ton in 2000 to less than 90 grams/ton; it takes more than 10 years on average for mines to go from exploration to production. This physical supply restriction has caused the silver market to be in short supply for many years. The global silver market will still face a supply gap of approximately 67 million ounces in 2026, falling into a shortage for the sixth consecutive year.

3. Use professional research and judgment to empower precious metals trading

Facing such a complex and ever-changing market, investors need not only information, but also in-depth research and precise execution. WMAX international precious metals trading platform was born for this purpose.

In terms of market research and judgment, WMAX relies on its professional geopolitical analysis team, millisecond-level cross-market data monitoring system and mature asset pricing model to complete a full-dimensional analysis of geopolitical evolution, global capital changes, and pricing logic of large categories of assets in the first time. Whether it is capturing signals of the Federal Reserve's policy shift, technical identification of gold's key resistance levels, or risk warnings of silver's "high volatility threshold," WMAX can provide investors with forward-looking decision-making references.

In terms of trading functions, WMAX provides an ECN account mode, with London gold spreads as low as 0.0 points; the maximum leverage is 1:500, supporting EA intelligent transactions; funds are segregated and stored, providing negative balance protection; fast withdrawals within 30 minutes, and supporting more than 30 payment channels. From real-time data monitoring to professional market analysis and judgment, from low-latency execution to safe fund custody, WMAX has built a complete infrastructure for precious metals traders.

Conclusion: In the precious metals market in 2026, gold is looking for a balance between interest rate expectations and central bank gold purchases, while silver is reshaping its pricing between the rigidity of industrial demand and traditional financial attributes. No matter how the market evolves, the WMAX international precious metals trading platform always uses professional research and judgment and excellent execution to accompany every investor through fluctuations and seize opportunities.