Why Are Gold and Silver Prices Rising? What's Driving the Market in 2026

If you've been watching gold and silver prices recently, you may have noticed something, both metals have been moving higher again.

Gold gained around 7% in the week ending 7 August, while silver also moved strongly.


For people already holding precious metals, that naturally attracts attention. But for someone thinking about buying for the first time, rising prices can create two very common questions:

Should I buy gold or silver — and when should I buy?

The simple answer is that nobody can tell you with certainty when the best time to buy will be.

Gold and silver prices move every day. Buying after prices have risen can feel uncomfortable, while waiting for a fall can mean waiting for a price that may or may not arrive.

 can be more useful than trying to guess its next move. Right now, several important things are happening across the gold and silver markets.

1. Investors Are Putting Money Back Into Gold

One of the clearest changes has been large investors returning to gold. We can see some of this through 

An ETF is simply an investment fund that people can buy through the financial markets. Gold ETFs give investors exposure to gold without needing to personally buy and store physical bars or coins.

US$3 billion flowed into global gold ETFs

, following two months where money had been pouring out.

European gold ETFs alone attracted around 

 gold. When investors sell gold investments and move their money elsewhere, that's called an 

. When they start putting money back into gold, that's called an 

July saw that direction change. It doesn't tell us what the gold price will do next, but it does show us that investor interest in gold increased during the month.

You'll often hear interest rates mentioned when gold prices move.

Gold doesn't pay interest. Money held in a savings account or certain government bonds can. When interest rates are high, those interest-paying investments can become more attractive compared with holding gold.

When investors expect interest rates to fall, that difference becomes smaller and gold can become relatively more attractive.

Recently, weaker US employment data has caused investors to reconsider where US interest rates may be heading.

Why does America matter to gold in New Zealand?

The US dollar, US interest rates and decisions made by the US Federal Reserve can influence gold prices around the world — including the price we eventually see here in New Zealand.

3. Central Banks Are Still Holding and Buying Gold

It isn't only individual investors buying gold. Central banks — the institutions responsible for managing countries' money and financial reserves — are also major holders of gold.

Over the past four years, central banks have bought around 

Gold can form part of a country's financial reserves alongside things such as foreign currencies and government bonds. Holding different types of assets reduces reliance on any single one.

Central-bank buying has slowed from the unusually high levels seen recently, but central banks remain important participants in the global gold market.

Gold and silver are often talked about together, but there is an important difference.

Silver isn't only held as a precious metal. It's also an 

Silver's ability to conduct electricity makes it useful in electronics, electrical equipment, solar technology and many other applications.

That means silver prices can be influenced by both 

The Silver Institute currently forecasts that the world will use more silver than it supplies during 2026. If that happens, it would be the 

sixth consecutive year of a global silver supply deficit

It's actually very simple. Imagine the world needs 

It means demand has exceeded the amount of new supply available during that period.

That doesn't automatically mean silver prices must rise. Recycling can increase, manufacturers can reduce the amount of silver they use, demand can fall, and markets can adjust in other ways.

But it is an important part of understanding what's happening in the silver market.

Gold and silver are traded globally, with international prices commonly quoted in US dollars.

Here in New Zealand, we buy in New Zealand dollars. This means changes in our exchange rate can also affect the price of gold and silver in NZD.

For example, if the New Zealand dollar weakens against the US dollar, gold can become more expensive for New Zealand buyers — even if the international gold price hasn't changed.

If the New Zealand dollar strengthens, the opposite can happen.

This is why the gold and silver prices we see in New Zealand won't always move by exactly the same amount as the US-dollar prices reported in international headlines.

There isn't one single reason gold and silver have been rising recently. Several things are happening at the same time. Investors have started putting money back into gold ETFs after two months of withdrawals.

US economic data has changed expectations around interest rates. Central banks continue to hold and buy significant amounts of gold. And silver has its own supply-and-demand pressures because it is both a precious metal and an important industrial material.

None of this tells us where gold or silver prices will go next. Prices can rise and fall quickly. But understanding 

 can help make the daily headlines much easier to understand.

That's what we want to do at Best Bullion — make the precious metals market easier for New Zealanders to understand, whether you're completely new to gold and silver or have been following the market for years.

Gold and silver prices have moved strongly higher in recent weeks. But what's actually driving the change? We break down what's happening in the precious metals market, why it matters in New Zealand.

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