Gold and silver prices surged in Q3 2024, driven by central bank buying and macroeconomic factors. While gold experienced a historic price increase, silver's price was influenced by both its precious metal value and industrial demand. YTD through September 30, gold is up 27.71% and silver has gained 30.95%.

Gold has been on the move since Q2 ended, after having gained 12.79% year-to-date as of June 30, gold's best six-month start since 2020. Gold enjoyed strong support from central bank buying. Silver closed Q2 at $29.14, its highest quarterly close since Q3 2012. Silver was supported by the gold breakout and global monetary expansion policies.

Despite a pullback on gold investments, demand from sovereigns and central banks remains unwavering. Over the past decade, China has been committed to bolstering its gold reserves to enhance its economic and geopolitical standings. Silver is likely to be in high demand as the energy transition expands, given it is critical to solar PV panel technology, EV batteries and 5G cellular service. 

Uranium's performance helped the energy transition complex close higher in September. From a macro outlook, solar panels are emerging as a critical player in the global energy transition. Evolving technologies in renewable energy, especially in the solar space, are driving a surge in silver demand which may likely outpace supply over the next decade.

We believe we are in the early stages of an energy transition materials secular bull market and favorable supply-demand dynamics are likely going forward. The upward revision in global growth, the timing effect of the China credit impulse and the surprise ending of China's zero-COVID policy have provided a tailwind for the metals market. For energy transition metals, we see this as a cyclical boost on top of the robust secular demand that is in play.