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  I'm Charlotte Mloud with investingnews.com and here today with me is Will Rind, CEO of Granite Shares. Thank you so much for being here. Always great to have you. [snorts] >> Good to see you, Charlotte. Thanks very much for having me. >> Of course. Great to be kicking off the new year with you and there's so much going on right now. We have gold and silver prices today either at or near all-time highs depending on how it's looking at just this moment. And this is all going on as we have Jerome Powell,

the Fed chair, facing a criminal investigation from the Trump administration. So, it's a pretty tricky situation right now. I know Trump is saying or sorry, Powell is saying this is all to do with the Fed's refusal to lower interest rates quickly enough. Trump is saying he doesn't have anything to do with this investigation. So, can you break down what you're seeing here? [sighs] >> Um, well, I think I'd like to think I suppose that it is a bit of political coercion that's just sort of being

ratcheted up to a new level. Um, based upon as as we all know, it's no secret that the administration wants interest rates lower. Um, that they've been unhappy with the fact that Powell has not lowered rates um to the level that they would like. Uh, of course his term ends in May officially and the administration's interviewing new candidates to uh replace Jerome Pal. But I think this is just a sort of a a ratcheting up of rhetoric around this whole issue of uh lowering rates and the

Fed independence. >> Yeah, I think ratcheting up is the right way to put it. And as we look forward at 2026 in terms of interest rates, is there is there anything we can say really with certainty right now? I I guess it feels like we're going lower. But anything in addition to that that you'd note? >> Yeah, I think um that's probably the right call um in terms of we continue on this path lower. I think before we know who the new Fed share is going to be, expectations I think in the market

probably came down a little bit or have come down a little bit um since that sort of barnstorming GDP number that we had uh at the end of last year. So I think any expectations around for example a cut here in January um and now probably off the table. So I think there is going to be um a cut more cuts but clearly we'll have to wait for the new Fed chair and the policy that he or she will will implement. >> And would you say your thoughts are similar on inflation where we need to wait and see how this scenario plays out

before we really know what's going to happen in 2026. >> Yeah. I mean, I think if we're talking about official, you know, CPI inflation, um, the the numbers look good. However, um, I think that the the full effects of the tariffs really have yet to to come through the system. So, while everything looks good, I think it's still too early to kind of plant the flag and claim victory. Um so everything looks okay now but I think this is the the real test in terms of this year will be a year plus

you know since a lot of these tariffs um got implemented and really will be past that point where you know ultimately whether it's um distributors whether it's product manufacturers supply chain uh people what they do about the pricing longer term as it sort of seems to solidify [snorts] >> great point about the tariffs. It feels like they've been left along the wayside a little bit with everything else that's going on. So, was there anything on that note that you would pull out for

investors that you're keeping an eye on? >> I I think is again just really the the passing on of those costs and you know how those costs are being absorbed. You know, so far to the extent that the consumer is absorbing the costs, the consumer seems to be absorbing um whatever costs in the system. Okay. And that's really why you see um inflation numbers in check. However, if that changes and either manufacturers choose to to put up prices or distributors um manufacturers etc. then we could see

that picture changing a little bit this year. >> And I also if we put these things together want to check in with you on your outlook for the US economy this year. Again I think there's there's a lot of things that we need to wait and see but any any initial thoughts there? Look, the the economy is in good shape. I think um you know that's the the main takeaway. You you saw a really strong GDP number in terms of some of these problems that that people talked about, you know, when the president came in. Um

inflation was sort of much much higher, some might say out of control. Um the deficit again in a in a bad situation. So these things have improved dramatically in a short period of time. You've got inflation which again we're not out of the woods yet but I think inflation is certainly uh much better at the moment than it was clearly 12 months ago. Deficit is looking a lot better. Again largely that's the impact of of tariffs uh on the situation and US importing less and uh exporting more. Um

but that picture is looking a lot better. unemployment has ticked up a little bit, but is still, you know, we're still talking about an economy that's largely in at full employment. So, there's a lot to be there's a lot to be, you know, there's a lot to be excited about. There's a lot to be happy about. Um, I think the last thing I'll say is going back to the markets, of course, is that, you know, companies still continue to to post strong earnings and we've got earnings across

the board that came in, you know, Q4, uh, strong. And so while companies continue to report uh strength and raising earnings expectations, you know, the market is going to go higher. >> Well, that is that's a good path. I did also want to talk to you about what's going on in the stock market because certainly I think in the precious metals sector, people are looking at it and thinking, well, this is overblown. We're due for a correction there. But, you know, what what are your thoughts given

what you're you're saying there? Yeah, I mean in in some respects there's a number of things going on, but you know with gold and precious metals more broadly. You know, first and foremost I'd start with it's a dollar story um probably is the is the main thing here and you know for the last 12 months or so the dollar has been uh on a downward trajectory which benefits hard assets but particularly gold uh and other precious metals. I think couple that with the geopolitical tensions um that

we see around the world which the the stock market you know has largely shrugged off um but I think that has been reflected more in the price of gold and price of precious metals more broadly um in terms of that elevated risk premium whether it was Russia Ukraine or whether it's Israel Gaza now you've got Venezuela you've got Iran thrown into the mix you've got the US being a bit more assertive um from militarily. And so from that perspective, you've got risk premiums increasing. And then of course add to

the add to that the latest news that we just talked about about the criminal probe um into Fed chair Geron Powell and you know you get that uncertainty that is reflected largely in the gold price um but other metals. So I think that you know you you're in this situation where on the one hand you have a stock market and economy doing well but the stock market seems to so far have shrugged off a lot of these risks that we're talking about are alive and well and manifest themselves in the gold market.

>> Yes. Yes. I think very much so. There are so many things alive and well under the surface that are probably going to come further to the four as we move on. And on the note of geopolitical tensions, I did want to bring up Venezuela. I know this is only really happening last week. It already feels like it's a little bit in the distance distant past just based on how quickly things are moving, but you know there's been a lot of focus there on what that could mean for the oil market. But what

about what about precious metals? What are you seeing as the potential impact there? >> Yeah, I mean I think it's twofold. So again, it it creates additional uncertainty. So the one part that we all know is the removal of Maduro and his wife. um the bit that everybody now doesn't know or at least the questions are being asked as to okay well what happens next and you know how does this play out not just over the next few few weeks the few months but next few years and there's uncertainty around that at

this point so that creates uncertainty uncertainty is good for gold I think the second part is that there's a question mark over while everyone's talking about oil Venezuela has a lot of natural resources including base metals, including precious metals and including rare earth uh metals which of course are critical in terms of the technology race particularly between US and China. And so that I think is a is a story that we'll learn more about going forward but so far it's really been

dominated by the oil conversation. Yeah, I think that's really interesting to talk about what it tells us about the growing importance of hard assets for countries around the world and there's been at least a little bit of discussion about all right so the US has done these actions in Venezuela does it mean it's going to make moves on different countries for example Greenland any any thoughts you would share there [snorts] >> yeah I mean I think again it's just um we're in a different sort of situation

now where uh I think the administration knows very clearly what they want um and what their sort of strategic priorities are and you know they're prepared to to try and use whatever means they can um to achieve those goals. Venezuela clearly being one of them and of course uh Greenland uh another. But I think this goes down this goes again back to on the one hand you know people will say that um there are geopolitical uh benefits to you know getting adversaries like the Russians the Chinese out of the

western hemisphere and of course that that is that is true and I'm sure that's a big part of it but the other part is access to to metals access to minerals access to energy particularly as we are facing this huge shortage of power uh when it comes to AI of basic materials when it comes to you know the electrification of everything in the economy and critical rare earth metal metals and minerals um to the most critical technologies be they consumer technologies uh or for national defense.

So I think it's all in the same mix. >> Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I definitely see what you're saying there and we've covered a lot of ground in terms of what we should be keeping an eye on for gold in 2026. Is there anything else that you would add to the list, things that you are watching in terms of factors that could move the gold price? >> Yeah, absolutely. Um, I think that, you know, the one thing that we haven't touched on are of course the fundamental factors and the fundamental factors have

kind of been left by the wayside a little bit with all the other stuff going on. um which of course is really in my opinion is the the main reason that gold's gone to all-time highs. However, you know, we can't ignore the fact that the fundamentals for gold and for other precious metals are incredibly strong. In other words, for the gold market in particular, central banks remain strong buyers, net buyers of gold. Um this is a trend that's been around for the last 10 years plus, but

it increases uh as [clears throat] we go forward. And so you have a big bid on the gold price from central banks around the world, from investors of course around the world. Um, this is something that's going on. Add that to silver, other metals like platinum and you have markets that have been underinvested in for years and therefore in in a situation where the market is in deficit. In other words, there's more demand for the metal than there is supply. And these are not things that can be corrected um very quickly. And so

that the fundamental picture is driving not just gold but silver and and platinum as well. >> Well, and let's make sure we talk about silver. And I think your answer also ties into what I was going to ask you. So silver, we typically hear gold moves first and then silver follows. So we've seen a massive breakout in silver since we last talked. Is it following gold higher or is it moving also because of its own silver specific factors? How are you seeing it? It's a bit of both. Um, and you know,

people will all always look to, you know, which one is the most, you know, persuasive um for their particular investment thesis. But in my mind, it was kind of inconceivable that you could have gold at an all-time high at least, you know, 6 12 months ago um and the price of silver not react in the way that you would have perhaps thought um at least historically. So, silver was always going to play that catch-up role to gold. Um, and historically in a market where, you know, gold prices are rising, then you would expect all things

being equal, silver prices to to rise slightly faster because it's a more volatile metal. Um, but that didn't happen until quite recently. And I think it's the confluence of factors whereby a lot of people perhaps thought that they'd missed out on gold. um after the silent rally that's happened in gold over the last couple of years, people started to look for the next uh metal to go so to speak um and found silver. Silver just so happened to also have great uh fundamentals. It was a market

in deficit. Um people started to buy silver. Price of silver was going up. And then I think the same thing is happening to platinum now where platinum again have been stuck in a in a range for for many years. Platinum used to trade at a premium to gold. Um, which in today's money obviously would mean a platinum price per ounce of well over $4,000 an ounce. Um, almost double where platinum trades today after a very big strong rally. So, I think people looking at platinum as well and thinking is that

the next one? >> People definitely are wondering about what's going to happen next for platinum after spending years in those rangebound levels. So do you do you see that as conceivable as likely that platinum could go back to trading at that premium to gold at some point during this cycle? >> Yeah, because we're in a world where um you know this is a precious metals bull cycle. Uh I don't know if I've seen a better cycle or a more you know sharp upswing for gold, silver and other

precious metals certainly in my career. you know, you got to look back to probably the the gold peak of 2011 for something similar. Um, but you know, back in those days, um, you had a significantly higher, you know, platinum price visa fee gold. So, I think people are looking at that today and saying that this is a precious metals bull market. And, you know, it's really anybody's guess as to how high this could go. >> It really, it really is. Those higher prices are getting more and more

realistic as time goes on. And I know you're not so much of a price predicting type of person, but looking at gold and silver in 2026, do you have a range in mind? Probably a direction in mind would be up, but anything that you can say? >> Yeah, I mean I I don't know. I mean, it's something that, you know, could gold get to to 5,000, 6,000? I mean, it's anybody's guess, but I think, you know, when I was thinking about the gold price, so towards the end of last year, I thought, you know, gold was definitely

going to hit 4,000 an ounce. Um, and my my sort of view was that would happen sometime this year. And obviously that happened before the end of last year. So I think we're just in a in a very unusual situation where um you know gold is rallying rallying hard along with other precious metals and we'll have to see how far that can go. I mean when we look back to other you know periods like 1980 you know the price of gold moved I think it was eightfold um from sort of trough to peak in that time and so

clearly when you look back on some of those other periods for for gold and silver particularly where they went [snorts] to all-time highs um then we could be talking about a lot higher price than we are today. Well, and maybe a better way to look at it, it does feel like we're in kind of an acceleration phase. I I know not just you, there's many people I've spoken to, they give a price prediction and it comes way sooner than they had expected. So, do you think that type of acceleration is is set to

continue? >> Well, I think what people would say, myself included, is if you look at gold um through the lens of different ratios, some sometimes u an interesting way to look at it. So if you look at gold silver ratio or if you look at something like the Dow gold ratio or gold against the Msei world or these other ratios then I think it certainly shows you that gold has further to go against equities. Um if you look at historical uh ratios so just based upon a gold versus broad equity index it would show you that gold

has further to go and even with some of the other uh metal ratios and I and I think you know again going back to the the situation that we're in we're in a situation where there's global uncertainty the arguably the world order that people have been used to for the last sort of you know 50 years or whatever is is in the in the process of being upended. Maybe that's a bit dramatic, but you know, certainly for for some people that's how they see it. And from that perspective, we're moving

to from a globalized world to somewhat of a deglobalized world or a more polarized world. That brings more risks. Um, and you know, that's part of the reason why, you know, at this period people are people are stocking up on on assets such as gold. Well, you mentioned people are stocking up. Definitely, we can see that. To what extent do you think gold, silver, even platinum are becoming more more into the mainstream for investors? >> I I think this is a good question. There's sort of two parts to this that

um on the one hand, I think gold has never been more in people's consciousness than it is today. And I think we have to thank the the Bitcoin and crypto community for that, for really, you know, shining a spotlight on gold in perhaps in an ironic way because I don't think that was ever their intention, but um to to shine a light on an asset that is independent from the traditional financial system that's not subject to the traditional credit and counterparty risks, that can't be

printed like paper money, that sits independently, all of these sort of aspects that uh were told about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. I think people realized again or rerealized that hey this is what people have been saying about gold for thousands of years. Um so that that's sort of one thing that I can think of. >> And then the other thing I think is that um you know it's really just now that I'm starting to see more mainstream coverage of gold and the gold rally. Now, I look back to previous gold peaks

um whether it was 2011 or whether it was subsequently um in periods such as 2020, but when gold went to all-time highs, it was almost as if the world was about to fall apart. You'd have on mainstream, you know, shows, whether it was the front page of major newspapers, they would be talking about golds in a bubble, golds in a bubble, golds in a bubble all the time. And this time, at least for the last couple, I haven't heard any of this. And it's really I think only recently that it started to

to sort of raise its head in the mainstream sort of publications where I I see some like proper discussion coverage of what's going on in gold uh what's going on in silver. So from that perspective I think if you look on a sort of a bubble meter or something like that then just anecdotally I would say that um we're still somewhat away from the mania that that we've seen in previous cycles. very interesting perspective. So, thank you for sharing that as well. And just as we're getting to the end here, any

final thoughts that you would leave investors with as we're heading into the new year? It seems like it's going to be a pretty interesting one. [snorts] >> Look, I think there's a lot of a lot of reasons to be optimistic um about 2026. You know, whenever there's geopolitical tensions, situations, you know, these things that that perhaps seem scary do create opportunities for investors for those that are willing to to take risk, those that are willing to think longer term. But it's also a case that, you

know, markets are, you know, at or around all-time highs. It's difficult to find something that is quote unquote undervalued. And I think that's why you know people are looking to commodities um for the first time in a long time and you know perhaps that might not be gold per se but are looking at things like platinum looking at other commodities which you know people haven't thought of or just the asset class more broadly um in terms of commodities. So, it's something that's getting a bit more um

conversation now, but as well, you know, if people are worried about uh markets or highs and just looking for to take a bit of more defensive stance, um then we see a lot of that, you know, manifesting in in gold as well moment. [snorts] >> Yeah, it looks like that is certainly a trend that will continue. So, thank you so much for coming on today to go over gold, silver, platinum, the markets. This was great. >> Thank you so much, Charlotte. Always a pleasure. Thank you for having me. Of

course. And once again, I'm Charlotte Mloud with investingnews.com and this is Will Rind with Granite Shares. Thank you for watching. [music] If you like this video, make sure you hit the like button and subscribe to our channel. We'd also love to hear your thoughts, so leave us a comment below.

 I'm Charlotte Mloud with investingnews.com and here today with me is Will Rind, CEO of Granite Shares. Thank you so much for being here. Always great to have you. [snorts] >> Good to see you, Charlotte. Thanks very much for having me. >> Of course. Great to be kicking off the new year with you and there's so much going on right now. We have gold and silver prices today either at or near all-time highs depending on how it's looking at just this moment. And this is all going on as we have Jerome Powell,

the Fed chair, facing a criminal investigation from the Trump administration. So, it's a pretty tricky situation right now. I know Trump is saying or sorry, Powell is saying this is all to do with the Fed's refusal to lower interest rates quickly enough. Trump is saying he doesn't have anything to do with this investigation. So, can you break down what you're seeing here? [sighs] >> Um, well, I think I'd like to think I suppose that it is a bit of political coercion that's just sort of being

ratcheted up to a new level. Um, based upon as as we all know, it's no secret that the administration wants interest rates lower. Um, that they've been unhappy with the fact that Powell has not lowered rates um to the level that they would like. Uh, of course his term ends in May officially and the administration's interviewing new candidates to uh replace Jerome Pal. But I think this is just a sort of a a ratcheting up of rhetoric around this whole issue of uh lowering rates and the

Fed independence. >> Yeah, I think ratcheting up is the right way to put it. And as we look forward at 2026 in terms of interest rates, is there is there anything we can say really with certainty right now? I I guess it feels like we're going lower. But anything in addition to that that you'd note? >> Yeah, I think um that's probably the right call um in terms of we continue on this path lower. I think before we know who the new Fed share is going to be, expectations I think in the market

probably came down a little bit or have come down a little bit um since that sort of barnstorming GDP number that we had uh at the end of last year. So I think any expectations around for example a cut here in January um and now probably off the table. So I think there is going to be um a cut more cuts but clearly we'll have to wait for the new Fed chair and the policy that he or she will will implement. >> And would you say your thoughts are similar on inflation where we need to wait and see how this scenario plays out

before we really know what's going to happen in 2026. >> Yeah. I mean, I think if we're talking about official, you know, CPI inflation, um, the the numbers look good. However, um, I think that the the full effects of the tariffs really have yet to to come through the system. So, while everything looks good, I think it's still too early to kind of plant the flag and claim victory. Um so everything looks okay now but I think this is the the real test in terms of this year will be a year plus

you know since a lot of these tariffs um got implemented and really will be past that point where you know ultimately whether it's um distributors whether it's product manufacturers supply chain uh people what they do about the pricing longer term as it sort of seems to solidify [snorts] >> great point about the tariffs. It feels like they've been left along the wayside a little bit with everything else that's going on. So, was there anything on that note that you would pull out for

investors that you're keeping an eye on? >> I I think is again just really the the passing on of those costs and you know how those costs are being absorbed. You know, so far to the extent that the consumer is absorbing the costs, the consumer seems to be absorbing um whatever costs in the system. Okay. And that's really why you see um inflation numbers in check. However, if that changes and either manufacturers choose to to put up prices or distributors um manufacturers etc. then we could see

that picture changing a little bit this year. >> And I also if we put these things together want to check in with you on your outlook for the US economy this year. Again I think there's there's a lot of things that we need to wait and see but any any initial thoughts there? Look, the the economy is in good shape. I think um you know that's the the main takeaway. You you saw a really strong GDP number in terms of some of these problems that that people talked about, you know, when the president came in. Um

inflation was sort of much much higher, some might say out of control. Um the deficit again in a in a bad situation. So these things have improved dramatically in a short period of time. You've got inflation which again we're not out of the woods yet but I think inflation is certainly uh much better at the moment than it was clearly 12 months ago. Deficit is looking a lot better. Again largely that's the impact of of tariffs uh on the situation and US importing less and uh exporting more. Um

but that picture is looking a lot better. unemployment has ticked up a little bit, but is still, you know, we're still talking about an economy that's largely in at full employment. So, there's a lot to be there's a lot to be, you know, there's a lot to be excited about. There's a lot to be happy about. Um, I think the last thing I'll say is going back to the markets, of course, is that, you know, companies still continue to to post strong earnings and we've got earnings across

the board that came in, you know, Q4, uh, strong. And so while companies continue to report uh strength and raising earnings expectations, you know, the market is going to go higher. >> Well, that is that's a good path. I did also want to talk to you about what's going on in the stock market because certainly I think in the precious metals sector, people are looking at it and thinking, well, this is overblown. We're due for a correction there. But, you know, what what are your thoughts given

what you're you're saying there? Yeah, I mean in in some respects there's a number of things going on, but you know with gold and precious metals more broadly. You know, first and foremost I'd start with it's a dollar story um probably is the is the main thing here and you know for the last 12 months or so the dollar has been uh on a downward trajectory which benefits hard assets but particularly gold uh and other precious metals. I think couple that with the geopolitical tensions um that

we see around the world which the the stock market you know has largely shrugged off um but I think that has been reflected more in the price of gold and price of precious metals more broadly um in terms of that elevated risk premium whether it was Russia Ukraine or whether it's Israel Gaza now you've got Venezuela you've got Iran thrown into the mix you've got the US being a bit more assertive um from militarily. And so from that perspective, you've got risk premiums increasing. And then of course add to

the add to that the latest news that we just talked about about the criminal probe um into Fed chair Geron Powell and you know you get that uncertainty that is reflected largely in the gold price um but other metals. So I think that you know you you're in this situation where on the one hand you have a stock market and economy doing well but the stock market seems to so far have shrugged off a lot of these risks that we're talking about are alive and well and manifest themselves in the gold market.

>> Yes. Yes. I think very much so. There are so many things alive and well under the surface that are probably going to come further to the four as we move on. And on the note of geopolitical tensions, I did want to bring up Venezuela. I know this is only really happening last week. It already feels like it's a little bit in the distance distant past just based on how quickly things are moving, but you know there's been a lot of focus there on what that could mean for the oil market. But what

about what about precious metals? What are you seeing as the potential impact there? >> Yeah, I mean I think it's twofold. So again, it it creates additional uncertainty. So the one part that we all know is the removal of Maduro and his wife. um the bit that everybody now doesn't know or at least the questions are being asked as to okay well what happens next and you know how does this play out not just over the next few few weeks the few months but next few years and there's uncertainty around that at

this point so that creates uncertainty uncertainty is good for gold I think the second part is that there's a question mark over while everyone's talking about oil Venezuela has a lot of natural resources including base metals, including precious metals and including rare earth uh metals which of course are critical in terms of the technology race particularly between US and China. And so that I think is a is a story that we'll learn more about going forward but so far it's really been

dominated by the oil conversation. Yeah, I think that's really interesting to talk about what it tells us about the growing importance of hard assets for countries around the world and there's been at least a little bit of discussion about all right so the US has done these actions in Venezuela does it mean it's going to make moves on different countries for example Greenland any any thoughts you would share there [snorts] >> yeah I mean I think again it's just um we're in a different sort of situation

now where uh I think the administration knows very clearly what they want um and what their sort of strategic priorities are and you know they're prepared to to try and use whatever means they can um to achieve those goals. Venezuela clearly being one of them and of course uh Greenland uh another. But I think this goes down this goes again back to on the one hand you know people will say that um there are geopolitical uh benefits to you know getting adversaries like the Russians the Chinese out of the

western hemisphere and of course that that is that is true and I'm sure that's a big part of it but the other part is access to to metals access to minerals access to energy particularly as we are facing this huge shortage of power uh when it comes to AI of basic materials when it comes to you know the electrification of everything in the economy and critical rare earth metal metals and minerals um to the most critical technologies be they consumer technologies uh or for national defense.

So I think it's all in the same mix. >> Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I definitely see what you're saying there and we've covered a lot of ground in terms of what we should be keeping an eye on for gold in 2026. Is there anything else that you would add to the list, things that you are watching in terms of factors that could move the gold price? >> Yeah, absolutely. Um, I think that, you know, the one thing that we haven't touched on are of course the fundamental factors and the fundamental factors have

kind of been left by the wayside a little bit with all the other stuff going on. um which of course is really in my opinion is the the main reason that gold's gone to all-time highs. However, you know, we can't ignore the fact that the fundamentals for gold and for other precious metals are incredibly strong. In other words, for the gold market in particular, central banks remain strong buyers, net buyers of gold. Um this is a trend that's been around for the last 10 years plus, but

it increases uh as [clears throat] we go forward. And so you have a big bid on the gold price from central banks around the world, from investors of course around the world. Um, this is something that's going on. Add that to silver, other metals like platinum and you have markets that have been underinvested in for years and therefore in in a situation where the market is in deficit. In other words, there's more demand for the metal than there is supply. And these are not things that can be corrected um very quickly. And so

that the fundamental picture is driving not just gold but silver and and platinum as well. >> Well, and let's make sure we talk about silver. And I think your answer also ties into what I was going to ask you. So silver, we typically hear gold moves first and then silver follows. So we've seen a massive breakout in silver since we last talked. Is it following gold higher or is it moving also because of its own silver specific factors? How are you seeing it? It's a bit of both. Um, and you know,

people will all always look to, you know, which one is the most, you know, persuasive um for their particular investment thesis. But in my mind, it was kind of inconceivable that you could have gold at an all-time high at least, you know, 6 12 months ago um and the price of silver not react in the way that you would have perhaps thought um at least historically. So, silver was always going to play that catch-up role to gold. Um, and historically in a market where, you know, gold prices are rising, then you would expect all things

being equal, silver prices to to rise slightly faster because it's a more volatile metal. Um, but that didn't happen until quite recently. And I think it's the confluence of factors whereby a lot of people perhaps thought that they'd missed out on gold. um after the silent rally that's happened in gold over the last couple of years, people started to look for the next uh metal to go so to speak um and found silver. Silver just so happened to also have great uh fundamentals. It was a market

in deficit. Um people started to buy silver. Price of silver was going up. And then I think the same thing is happening to platinum now where platinum again have been stuck in a in a range for for many years. Platinum used to trade at a premium to gold. Um, which in today's money obviously would mean a platinum price per ounce of well over $4,000 an ounce. Um, almost double where platinum trades today after a very big strong rally. So, I think people looking at platinum as well and thinking is that

the next one? >> People definitely are wondering about what's going to happen next for platinum after spending years in those rangebound levels. So do you do you see that as conceivable as likely that platinum could go back to trading at that premium to gold at some point during this cycle? >> Yeah, because we're in a world where um you know this is a precious metals bull cycle. Uh I don't know if I've seen a better cycle or a more you know sharp upswing for gold, silver and other

precious metals certainly in my career. you know, you got to look back to probably the the gold peak of 2011 for something similar. Um, but you know, back in those days, um, you had a significantly higher, you know, platinum price visa fee gold. So, I think people are looking at that today and saying that this is a precious metals bull market. And, you know, it's really anybody's guess as to how high this could go. >> It really, it really is. Those higher prices are getting more and more

realistic as time goes on. And I know you're not so much of a price predicting type of person, but looking at gold and silver in 2026, do you have a range in mind? Probably a direction in mind would be up, but anything that you can say? >> Yeah, I mean I I don't know. I mean, it's something that, you know, could gold get to to 5,000, 6,000? I mean, it's anybody's guess, but I think, you know, when I was thinking about the gold price, so towards the end of last year, I thought, you know, gold was definitely

going to hit 4,000 an ounce. Um, and my my sort of view was that would happen sometime this year. And obviously that happened before the end of last year. So I think we're just in a in a very unusual situation where um you know gold is rallying rallying hard along with other precious metals and we'll have to see how far that can go. I mean when we look back to other you know periods like 1980 you know the price of gold moved I think it was eightfold um from sort of trough to peak in that time and so

clearly when you look back on some of those other periods for for gold and silver particularly where they went [snorts] to all-time highs um then we could be talking about a lot higher price than we are today. Well, and maybe a better way to look at it, it does feel like we're in kind of an acceleration phase. I I know not just you, there's many people I've spoken to, they give a price prediction and it comes way sooner than they had expected. So, do you think that type of acceleration is is set to

continue? >> Well, I think what people would say, myself included, is if you look at gold um through the lens of different ratios, some sometimes u an interesting way to look at it. So if you look at gold silver ratio or if you look at something like the Dow gold ratio or gold against the Msei world or these other ratios then I think it certainly shows you that gold has further to go against equities. Um if you look at historical uh ratios so just based upon a gold versus broad equity index it would show you that gold

has further to go and even with some of the other uh metal ratios and I and I think you know again going back to the the situation that we're in we're in a situation where there's global uncertainty the arguably the world order that people have been used to for the last sort of you know 50 years or whatever is is in the in the process of being upended. Maybe that's a bit dramatic, but you know, certainly for for some people that's how they see it. And from that perspective, we're moving

to from a globalized world to somewhat of a deglobalized world or a more polarized world. That brings more risks. Um, and you know, that's part of the reason why, you know, at this period people are people are stocking up on on assets such as gold. Well, you mentioned people are stocking up. Definitely, we can see that. To what extent do you think gold, silver, even platinum are becoming more more into the mainstream for investors? >> I I think this is a good question. There's sort of two parts to this that

um on the one hand, I think gold has never been more in people's consciousness than it is today. And I think we have to thank the the Bitcoin and crypto community for that, for really, you know, shining a spotlight on gold in perhaps in an ironic way because I don't think that was ever their intention, but um to to shine a light on an asset that is independent from the traditional financial system that's not subject to the traditional credit and counterparty risks, that can't be

printed like paper money, that sits independently, all of these sort of aspects that uh were told about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. I think people realized again or rerealized that hey this is what people have been saying about gold for thousands of years. Um so that that's sort of one thing that I can think of. >> And then the other thing I think is that um you know it's really just now that I'm starting to see more mainstream coverage of gold and the gold rally. Now, I look back to previous gold peaks

um whether it was 2011 or whether it was subsequently um in periods such as 2020, but when gold went to all-time highs, it was almost as if the world was about to fall apart. You'd have on mainstream, you know, shows, whether it was the front page of major newspapers, they would be talking about golds in a bubble, golds in a bubble, golds in a bubble all the time. And this time, at least for the last couple, I haven't heard any of this. And it's really I think only recently that it started to

to sort of raise its head in the mainstream sort of publications where I I see some like proper discussion coverage of what's going on in gold uh what's going on in silver. So from that perspective I think if you look on a sort of a bubble meter or something like that then just anecdotally I would say that um we're still somewhat away from the mania that that we've seen in previous cycles. very interesting perspective. So, thank you for sharing that as well. And just as we're getting to the end here, any

final thoughts that you would leave investors with as we're heading into the new year? It seems like it's going to be a pretty interesting one. [snorts] >> Look, I think there's a lot of a lot of reasons to be optimistic um about 2026. You know, whenever there's geopolitical tensions, situations, you know, these things that that perhaps seem scary do create opportunities for investors for those that are willing to to take risk, those that are willing to think longer term. But it's also a case that, you

know, markets are, you know, at or around all-time highs. It's difficult to find something that is quote unquote undervalued. And I think that's why you know people are looking to commodities um for the first time in a long time and you know perhaps that might not be gold per se but are looking at things like platinum looking at other commodities which you know people haven't thought of or just the asset class more broadly um in terms of commodities. So, it's something that's getting a bit more um

conversation now, but as well, you know, if people are worried about uh markets or highs and just looking for to take a bit of more defensive stance, um then we see a lot of that, you know, manifesting in in gold as well moment. [snorts] >> Yeah, it looks like that is certainly a trend that will continue. So, thank you so much for coming on today to go over gold, silver, platinum, the markets. This was great. >> Thank you so much, Charlotte. Always a pleasure. Thank you for having me. Of

course. And once again, I'm Charlotte Mloud with investingnews.com and this is Will Rind with Granite Shares. Thank you for watching. [music] If you like this video, make sure you hit the like button and subscribe to our channel. We'd also love to hear your thoughts, so leave us a comment below.

 I'm Charlotte Mloud with investingnews.com and here today with me is Will Rind, CEO of Granite Shares. Thank you so much for being here. Always great to have you. [snorts] >> Good to see you, Charlotte. Thanks very much for having me. >> Of course. Great to be kicking off the new year with you and there's so much going on right now. We have gold and silver prices today either at or near all-time highs depending on how it's looking at just this moment. And this is all going on as we have Jerome Powell,

the Fed chair, facing a criminal investigation from the Trump administration. So, it's a pretty tricky situation right now. I know Trump is saying or sorry, Powell is saying this is all to do with the Fed's refusal to lower interest rates quickly enough. Trump is saying he doesn't have anything to do with this investigation. So, can you break down what you're seeing here? [sighs] >> Um, well, I think I'd like to think I suppose that it is a bit of political coercion that's just sort of being

ratcheted up to a new level. Um, based upon as as we all know, it's no secret that the administration wants interest rates lower. Um, that they've been unhappy with the fact that Powell has not lowered rates um to the level that they would like. Uh, of course his term ends in May officially and the administration's interviewing new candidates to uh replace Jerome Pal. But I think this is just a sort of a a ratcheting up of rhetoric around this whole issue of uh lowering rates and the

Fed independence. >> Yeah, I think ratcheting up is the right way to put it. And as we look forward at 2026 in terms of interest rates, is there is there anything we can say really with certainty right now? I I guess it feels like we're going lower. But anything in addition to that that you'd note? >> Yeah, I think um that's probably the right call um in terms of we continue on this path lower. I think before we know who the new Fed share is going to be, expectations I think in the market

probably came down a little bit or have come down a little bit um since that sort of barnstorming GDP number that we had uh at the end of last year. So I think any expectations around for example a cut here in January um and now probably off the table. So I think there is going to be um a cut more cuts but clearly we'll have to wait for the new Fed chair and the policy that he or she will will implement. >> And would you say your thoughts are similar on inflation where we need to wait and see how this scenario plays out

before we really know what's going to happen in 2026. >> Yeah. I mean, I think if we're talking about official, you know, CPI inflation, um, the the numbers look good. However, um, I think that the the full effects of the tariffs really have yet to to come through the system. So, while everything looks good, I think it's still too early to kind of plant the flag and claim victory. Um so everything looks okay now but I think this is the the real test in terms of this year will be a year plus

you know since a lot of these tariffs um got implemented and really will be past that point where you know ultimately whether it's um distributors whether it's product manufacturers supply chain uh people what they do about the pricing longer term as it sort of seems to solidify [snorts] >> great point about the tariffs. It feels like they've been left along the wayside a little bit with everything else that's going on. So, was there anything on that note that you would pull out for

investors that you're keeping an eye on? >> I I think is again just really the the passing on of those costs and you know how those costs are being absorbed. You know, so far to the extent that the consumer is absorbing the costs, the consumer seems to be absorbing um whatever costs in the system. Okay. And that's really why you see um inflation numbers in check. However, if that changes and either manufacturers choose to to put up prices or distributors um manufacturers etc. then we could see

that picture changing a little bit this year. >> And I also if we put these things together want to check in with you on your outlook for the US economy this year. Again I think there's there's a lot of things that we need to wait and see but any any initial thoughts there? Look, the the economy is in good shape. I think um you know that's the the main takeaway. You you saw a really strong GDP number in terms of some of these problems that that people talked about, you know, when the president came in. Um

inflation was sort of much much higher, some might say out of control. Um the deficit again in a in a bad situation. So these things have improved dramatically in a short period of time. You've got inflation which again we're not out of the woods yet but I think inflation is certainly uh much better at the moment than it was clearly 12 months ago. Deficit is looking a lot better. Again largely that's the impact of of tariffs uh on the situation and US importing less and uh exporting more. Um

but that picture is looking a lot better. unemployment has ticked up a little bit, but is still, you know, we're still talking about an economy that's largely in at full employment. So, there's a lot to be there's a lot to be, you know, there's a lot to be excited about. There's a lot to be happy about. Um, I think the last thing I'll say is going back to the markets, of course, is that, you know, companies still continue to to post strong earnings and we've got earnings across

the board that came in, you know, Q4, uh, strong. And so while companies continue to report uh strength and raising earnings expectations, you know, the market is going to go higher. >> Well, that is that's a good path. I did also want to talk to you about what's going on in the stock market because certainly I think in the precious metals sector, people are looking at it and thinking, well, this is overblown. We're due for a correction there. But, you know, what what are your thoughts given

what you're you're saying there? Yeah, I mean in in some respects there's a number of things going on, but you know with gold and precious metals more broadly. You know, first and foremost I'd start with it's a dollar story um probably is the is the main thing here and you know for the last 12 months or so the dollar has been uh on a downward trajectory which benefits hard assets but particularly gold uh and other precious metals. I think couple that with the geopolitical tensions um that

we see around the world which the the stock market you know has largely shrugged off um but I think that has been reflected more in the price of gold and price of precious metals more broadly um in terms of that elevated risk premium whether it was Russia Ukraine or whether it's Israel Gaza now you've got Venezuela you've got Iran thrown into the mix you've got the US being a bit more assertive um from militarily. And so from that perspective, you've got risk premiums increasing. And then of course add to

the add to that the latest news that we just talked about about the criminal probe um into Fed chair Geron Powell and you know you get that uncertainty that is reflected largely in the gold price um but other metals. So I think that you know you you're in this situation where on the one hand you have a stock market and economy doing well but the stock market seems to so far have shrugged off a lot of these risks that we're talking about are alive and well and manifest themselves in the gold market.

>> Yes. Yes. I think very much so. There are so many things alive and well under the surface that are probably going to come further to the four as we move on. And on the note of geopolitical tensions, I did want to bring up Venezuela. I know this is only really happening last week. It already feels like it's a little bit in the distance distant past just based on how quickly things are moving, but you know there's been a lot of focus there on what that could mean for the oil market. But what

about what about precious metals? What are you seeing as the potential impact there? >> Yeah, I mean I think it's twofold. So again, it it creates additional uncertainty. So the one part that we all know is the removal of Maduro and his wife. um the bit that everybody now doesn't know or at least the questions are being asked as to okay well what happens next and you know how does this play out not just over the next few few weeks the few months but next few years and there's uncertainty around that at

this point so that creates uncertainty uncertainty is good for gold I think the second part is that there's a question mark over while everyone's talking about oil Venezuela has a lot of natural resources including base metals, including precious metals and including rare earth uh metals which of course are critical in terms of the technology race particularly between US and China. And so that I think is a is a story that we'll learn more about going forward but so far it's really been

dominated by the oil conversation. Yeah, I think that's really interesting to talk about what it tells us about the growing importance of hard assets for countries around the world and there's been at least a little bit of discussion about all right so the US has done these actions in Venezuela does it mean it's going to make moves on different countries for example Greenland any any thoughts you would share there [snorts] >> yeah I mean I think again it's just um we're in a different sort of situation

now where uh I think the administration knows very clearly what they want um and what their sort of strategic priorities are and you know they're prepared to to try and use whatever means they can um to achieve those goals. Venezuela clearly being one of them and of course uh Greenland uh another. But I think this goes down this goes again back to on the one hand you know people will say that um there are geopolitical uh benefits to you know getting adversaries like the Russians the Chinese out of the

western hemisphere and of course that that is that is true and I'm sure that's a big part of it but the other part is access to to metals access to minerals access to energy particularly as we are facing this huge shortage of power uh when it comes to AI of basic materials when it comes to you know the electrification of everything in the economy and critical rare earth metal metals and minerals um to the most critical technologies be they consumer technologies uh or for national defense.

So I think it's all in the same mix. >> Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I definitely see what you're saying there and we've covered a lot of ground in terms of what we should be keeping an eye on for gold in 2026. Is there anything else that you would add to the list, things that you are watching in terms of factors that could move the gold price? >> Yeah, absolutely. Um, I think that, you know, the one thing that we haven't touched on are of course the fundamental factors and the fundamental factors have

kind of been left by the wayside a little bit with all the other stuff going on. um which of course is really in my opinion is the the main reason that gold's gone to all-time highs. However, you know, we can't ignore the fact that the fundamentals for gold and for other precious metals are incredibly strong. In other words, for the gold market in particular, central banks remain strong buyers, net buyers of gold. Um this is a trend that's been around for the last 10 years plus, but

it increases uh as [clears throat] we go forward. And so you have a big bid on the gold price from central banks around the world, from investors of course around the world. Um, this is something that's going on. Add that to silver, other metals like platinum and you have markets that have been underinvested in for years and therefore in in a situation where the market is in deficit. In other words, there's more demand for the metal than there is supply. And these are not things that can be corrected um very quickly. And so

that the fundamental picture is driving not just gold but silver and and platinum as well. >> Well, and let's make sure we talk about silver. And I think your answer also ties into what I was going to ask you. So silver, we typically hear gold moves first and then silver follows. So we've seen a massive breakout in silver since we last talked. Is it following gold higher or is it moving also because of its own silver specific factors? How are you seeing it? It's a bit of both. Um, and you know,

people will all always look to, you know, which one is the most, you know, persuasive um for their particular investment thesis. But in my mind, it was kind of inconceivable that you could have gold at an all-time high at least, you know, 6 12 months ago um and the price of silver not react in the way that you would have perhaps thought um at least historically. So, silver was always going to play that catch-up role to gold. Um, and historically in a market where, you know, gold prices are rising, then you would expect all things

being equal, silver prices to to rise slightly faster because it's a more volatile metal. Um, but that didn't happen until quite recently. And I think it's the confluence of factors whereby a lot of people perhaps thought that they'd missed out on gold. um after the silent rally that's happened in gold over the last couple of years, people started to look for the next uh metal to go so to speak um and found silver. Silver just so happened to also have great uh fundamentals. It was a market

in deficit. Um people started to buy silver. Price of silver was going up. And then I think the same thing is happening to platinum now where platinum again have been stuck in a in a range for for many years. Platinum used to trade at a premium to gold. Um, which in today's money obviously would mean a platinum price per ounce of well over $4,000 an ounce. Um, almost double where platinum trades today after a very big strong rally. So, I think people looking at platinum as well and thinking is that

the next one? >> People definitely are wondering about what's going to happen next for platinum after spending years in those rangebound levels. So do you do you see that as conceivable as likely that platinum could go back to trading at that premium to gold at some point during this cycle? >> Yeah, because we're in a world where um you know this is a precious metals bull cycle. Uh I don't know if I've seen a better cycle or a more you know sharp upswing for gold, silver and other

precious metals certainly in my career. you know, you got to look back to probably the the gold peak of 2011 for something similar. Um, but you know, back in those days, um, you had a significantly higher, you know, platinum price visa fee gold. So, I think people are looking at that today and saying that this is a precious metals bull market. And, you know, it's really anybody's guess as to how high this could go. >> It really, it really is. Those higher prices are getting more and more

realistic as time goes on. And I know you're not so much of a price predicting type of person, but looking at gold and silver in 2026, do you have a range in mind? Probably a direction in mind would be up, but anything that you can say? >> Yeah, I mean I I don't know. I mean, it's something that, you know, could gold get to to 5,000, 6,000? I mean, it's anybody's guess, but I think, you know, when I was thinking about the gold price, so towards the end of last year, I thought, you know, gold was definitely

going to hit 4,000 an ounce. Um, and my my sort of view was that would happen sometime this year. And obviously that happened before the end of last year. So I think we're just in a in a very unusual situation where um you know gold is rallying rallying hard along with other precious metals and we'll have to see how far that can go. I mean when we look back to other you know periods like 1980 you know the price of gold moved I think it was eightfold um from sort of trough to peak in that time and so

clearly when you look back on some of those other periods for for gold and silver particularly where they went [snorts] to all-time highs um then we could be talking about a lot higher price than we are today. Well, and maybe a better way to look at it, it does feel like we're in kind of an acceleration phase. I I know not just you, there's many people I've spoken to, they give a price prediction and it comes way sooner than they had expected. So, do you think that type of acceleration is is set to

continue? >> Well, I think what people would say, myself included, is if you look at gold um through the lens of different ratios, some sometimes u an interesting way to look at it. So if you look at gold silver ratio or if you look at something like the Dow gold ratio or gold against the Msei world or these other ratios then I think it certainly shows you that gold has further to go against equities. Um if you look at historical uh ratios so just based upon a gold versus broad equity index it would show you that gold

has further to go and even with some of the other uh metal ratios and I and I think you know again going back to the the situation that we're in we're in a situation where there's global uncertainty the arguably the world order that people have been used to for the last sort of you know 50 years or whatever is is in the in the process of being upended. Maybe that's a bit dramatic, but you know, certainly for for some people that's how they see it. And from that perspective, we're moving

to from a globalized world to somewhat of a deglobalized world or a more polarized world. That brings more risks. Um, and you know, that's part of the reason why, you know, at this period people are people are stocking up on on assets such as gold. Well, you mentioned people are stocking up. Definitely, we can see that. To what extent do you think gold, silver, even platinum are becoming more more into the mainstream for investors? >> I I think this is a good question. There's sort of two parts to this that

um on the one hand, I think gold has never been more in people's consciousness than it is today. And I think we have to thank the the Bitcoin and crypto community for that, for really, you know, shining a spotlight on gold in perhaps in an ironic way because I don't think that was ever their intention, but um to to shine a light on an asset that is independent from the traditional financial system that's not subject to the traditional credit and counterparty risks, that can't be

printed like paper money, that sits independently, all of these sort of aspects that uh were told about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. I think people realized again or rerealized that hey this is what people have been saying about gold for thousands of years. Um so that that's sort of one thing that I can think of. >> And then the other thing I think is that um you know it's really just now that I'm starting to see more mainstream coverage of gold and the gold rally. Now, I look back to previous gold peaks

um whether it was 2011 or whether it was subsequently um in periods such as 2020, but when gold went to all-time highs, it was almost as if the world was about to fall apart. You'd have on mainstream, you know, shows, whether it was the front page of major newspapers, they would be talking about golds in a bubble, golds in a bubble, golds in a bubble all the time. And this time, at least for the last couple, I haven't heard any of this. And it's really I think only recently that it started to

to sort of raise its head in the mainstream sort of publications where I I see some like proper discussion coverage of what's going on in gold uh what's going on in silver. So from that perspective I think if you look on a sort of a bubble meter or something like that then just anecdotally I would say that um we're still somewhat away from the mania that that we've seen in previous cycles. very interesting perspective. So, thank you for sharing that as well. And just as we're getting to the end here, any

final thoughts that you would leave investors with as we're heading into the new year? It seems like it's going to be a pretty interesting one. [snorts] >> Look, I think there's a lot of a lot of reasons to be optimistic um about 2026. You know, whenever there's geopolitical tensions, situations, you know, these things that that perhaps seem scary do create opportunities for investors for those that are willing to to take risk, those that are willing to think longer term. But it's also a case that, you

know, markets are, you know, at or around all-time highs. It's difficult to find something that is quote unquote undervalued. And I think that's why you know people are looking to commodities um for the first time in a long time and you know perhaps that might not be gold per se but are looking at things like platinum looking at other commodities which you know people haven't thought of or just the asset class more broadly um in terms of commodities. So, it's something that's getting a bit more um

conversation now, but as well, you know, if people are worried about uh markets or highs and just looking for to take a bit of more defensive stance, um then we see a lot of that, you know, manifesting in in gold as well moment. [snorts] >> Yeah, it looks like that is certainly a trend that will continue. So, thank you so much for coming on today to go over gold, silver, platinum, the markets. This was great. >> Thank you so much, Charlotte. Always a pleasure. Thank you for having me. Of

course. And once again, I'm Charlotte Mloud with investingnews.com and this is Will Rind with Granite Shares. Thank you for watching. [music] If you like this video, make sure you hit the like button and subscribe to our channel. We'd also love to hear your thoughts, so leave us a comment below.

 I'm Charlotte Mloud with investingnews.com and here today with me is Will Rind, CEO of Granite Shares. Thank you so much for being here. Always great to have you. [snorts] >> Good to see you, Charlotte. Thanks very much for having me. >> Of course. Great to be kicking off the new year with you and there's so much going on right now. We have gold and silver prices today either at or near all-time highs depending on how it's looking at just this moment. And this is all going on as we have Jerome Powell,

the Fed chair, facing a criminal investigation from the Trump administration. So, it's a pretty tricky situation right now. I know Trump is saying or sorry, Powell is saying this is all to do with the Fed's refusal to lower interest rates quickly enough. Trump is saying he doesn't have anything to do with this investigation. So, can you break down what you're seeing here? [sighs] >> Um, well, I think I'd like to think I suppose that it is a bit of political coercion that's just sort of being

ratcheted up to a new level. Um, based upon as as we all know, it's no secret that the administration wants interest rates lower. Um, that they've been unhappy with the fact that Powell has not lowered rates um to the level that they would like. Uh, of course his term ends in May officially and the administration's interviewing new candidates to uh replace Jerome Pal. But I think this is just a sort of a a ratcheting up of rhetoric around this whole issue of uh lowering rates and the

Fed independence. >> Yeah, I think ratcheting up is the right way to put it. And as we look forward at 2026 in terms of interest rates, is there is there anything we can say really with certainty right now? I I guess it feels like we're going lower. But anything in addition to that that you'd note? >> Yeah, I think um that's probably the right call um in terms of we continue on this path lower. I think before we know who the new Fed share is going to be, expectations I think in the market

probably came down a little bit or have come down a little bit um since that sort of barnstorming GDP number that we had uh at the end of last year. So I think any expectations around for example a cut here in January um and now probably off the table. So I think there is going to be um a cut more cuts but clearly we'll have to wait for the new Fed chair and the policy that he or she will will implement. >> And would you say your thoughts are similar on inflation where we need to wait and see how this scenario plays out

before we really know what's going to happen in 2026. >> Yeah. I mean, I think if we're talking about official, you know, CPI inflation, um, the the numbers look good. However, um, I think that the the full effects of the tariffs really have yet to to come through the system. So, while everything looks good, I think it's still too early to kind of plant the flag and claim victory. Um so everything looks okay now but I think this is the the real test in terms of this year will be a year plus

you know since a lot of these tariffs um got implemented and really will be past that point where you know ultimately whether it's um distributors whether it's product manufacturers supply chain uh people what they do about the pricing longer term as it sort of seems to solidify [snorts] >> great point about the tariffs. It feels like they've been left along the wayside a little bit with everything else that's going on. So, was there anything on that note that you would pull out for

investors that you're keeping an eye on? >> I I think is again just really the the passing on of those costs and you know how those costs are being absorbed. You know, so far to the extent that the consumer is absorbing the costs, the consumer seems to be absorbing um whatever costs in the system. Okay. And that's really why you see um inflation numbers in check. However, if that changes and either manufacturers choose to to put up prices or distributors um manufacturers etc. then we could see

that picture changing a little bit this year. >> And I also if we put these things together want to check in with you on your outlook for the US economy this year. Again I think there's there's a lot of things that we need to wait and see but any any initial thoughts there? Look, the the economy is in good shape. I think um you know that's the the main takeaway. You you saw a really strong GDP number in terms of some of these problems that that people talked about, you know, when the president came in. Um

inflation was sort of much much higher, some might say out of control. Um the deficit again in a in a bad situation. So these things have improved dramatically in a short period of time. You've got inflation which again we're not out of the woods yet but I think inflation is certainly uh much better at the moment than it was clearly 12 months ago. Deficit is looking a lot better. Again largely that's the impact of of tariffs uh on the situation and US importing less and uh exporting more. Um

but that picture is looking a lot better. unemployment has ticked up a little bit, but is still, you know, we're still talking about an economy that's largely in at full employment. So, there's a lot to be there's a lot to be, you know, there's a lot to be excited about. There's a lot to be happy about. Um, I think the last thing I'll say is going back to the markets, of course, is that, you know, companies still continue to to post strong earnings and we've got earnings across

the board that came in, you know, Q4, uh, strong. And so while companies continue to report uh strength and raising earnings expectations, you know, the market is going to go higher. >> Well, that is that's a good path. I did also want to talk to you about what's going on in the stock market because certainly I think in the precious metals sector, people are looking at it and thinking, well, this is overblown. We're due for a correction there. But, you know, what what are your thoughts given

what you're you're saying there? Yeah, I mean in in some respects there's a number of things going on, but you know with gold and precious metals more broadly. You know, first and foremost I'd start with it's a dollar story um probably is the is the main thing here and you know for the last 12 months or so the dollar has been uh on a downward trajectory which benefits hard assets but particularly gold uh and other precious metals. I think couple that with the geopolitical tensions um that

we see around the world which the the stock market you know has largely shrugged off um but I think that has been reflected more in the price of gold and price of precious metals more broadly um in terms of that elevated risk premium whether it was Russia Ukraine or whether it's Israel Gaza now you've got Venezuela you've got Iran thrown into the mix you've got the US being a bit more assertive um from militarily. And so from that perspective, you've got risk premiums increasing. And then of course add to

the add to that the latest news that we just talked about about the criminal probe um into Fed chair Geron Powell and you know you get that uncertainty that is reflected largely in the gold price um but other metals. So I think that you know you you're in this situation where on the one hand you have a stock market and economy doing well but the stock market seems to so far have shrugged off a lot of these risks that we're talking about are alive and well and manifest themselves in the gold market.

>> Yes. Yes. I think very much so. There are so many things alive and well under the surface that are probably going to come further to the four as we move on. And on the note of geopolitical tensions, I did want to bring up Venezuela. I know this is only really happening last week. It already feels like it's a little bit in the distance distant past just based on how quickly things are moving, but you know there's been a lot of focus there on what that could mean for the oil market. But what

about what about precious metals? What are you seeing as the potential impact there? >> Yeah, I mean I think it's twofold. So again, it it creates additional uncertainty. So the one part that we all know is the removal of Maduro and his wife. um the bit that everybody now doesn't know or at least the questions are being asked as to okay well what happens next and you know how does this play out not just over the next few few weeks the few months but next few years and there's uncertainty around that at

this point so that creates uncertainty uncertainty is good for gold I think the second part is that there's a question mark over while everyone's talking about oil Venezuela has a lot of natural resources including base metals, including precious metals and including rare earth uh metals which of course are critical in terms of the technology race particularly between US and China. And so that I think is a is a story that we'll learn more about going forward but so far it's really been

dominated by the oil conversation. Yeah, I think that's really interesting to talk about what it tells us about the growing importance of hard assets for countries around the world and there's been at least a little bit of discussion about all right so the US has done these actions in Venezuela does it mean it's going to make moves on different countries for example Greenland any any thoughts you would share there [snorts] >> yeah I mean I think again it's just um we're in a different sort of situation

now where uh I think the administration knows very clearly what they want um and what their sort of strategic priorities are and you know they're prepared to to try and use whatever means they can um to achieve those goals. Venezuela clearly being one of them and of course uh Greenland uh another. But I think this goes down this goes again back to on the one hand you know people will say that um there are geopolitical uh benefits to you know getting adversaries like the Russians the Chinese out of the

western hemisphere and of course that that is that is true and I'm sure that's a big part of it but the other part is access to to metals access to minerals access to energy particularly as we are facing this huge shortage of power uh when it comes to AI of basic materials when it comes to you know the electrification of everything in the economy and critical rare earth metal metals and minerals um to the most critical technologies be they consumer technologies uh or for national defense.

So I think it's all in the same mix. >> Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I definitely see what you're saying there and we've covered a lot of groundv in terms of what we should be keeping an eye on for gold in 2026. Is there anything else that you would add to the list, things that you are watching in terms of factors that could move the gold price? >> Yeah, absolutely. Um, I think that, you know, the one thing that we haven't touched on are of course the fundamental factors and the fundamental factors have

kind of been left by the wayside a little bit with all the other stuff going on. um which of course is really in my opinion is the the main reason that gold's gone to all-time highs. However, you know, we can't ignore the fact that the fundamentals for gold and for other precious metals are incredibly strong. In other words, for the gold market in particular, central banks remain strong buyers, net buyers of gold. Um this is a trend that's been around for the last 10 years plus, but

it increases uh as [clears throat] we go forward. And so you have a big bid on the gold price from central banks around the world, from investors of course around the world. Um, this is something that's going on. Add that to silver, other metals like platinum and you have markets that have been underinvested in for years and therefore in in a situation where the market is in deficit. In other words, there's more demand for the metal than there is supply. And these are not things that can be corrected um very quickly. And so

that the fundamental picture is driving not just gold but silver and and platinum as well. >> Well, and let's make sure we talk about silver. And I think your answer also ties into what I was going to ask you. So silver, we typically hear gold moves first and then silver follows. So we've seen a massive breakout in silver since we last talked. Is it following gold higher or is it moving also because of its own silver specific factors? How are you seeing it? It's a bit of both. Um, and you know,

people will all always look to, you know, which one is the most, you know, persuasive um for their particular investment thesis. But in my mind, it was kind of inconceivable that you could have gold at an all-time high at least, you know, 6 12 months ago um and the price of silver not react in the way that you would have perhaps thought um at least historically. So, silver was always going to play that catch-up role to gold. Um, and historically in a market where, you know, gold prices are rising, then you would expect all things

being equal, silver prices to to rise slightly faster because it's a more volatile metal. Um, but that didn't happen until quite recently. And I think it's the confluence of factors whereby a lot of people perhaps thought that they'd missed out on gold. um after the silent rally that's happened in gold over the last couple of years, people started to look for the next uh metal to go so to speak um and found silver. Silver just so happened to also have great uh fundamentals. It was a market

in deficit. Um people started to buy silver. Price of silver was going up. And then I think the same thing is happening to platinum now where platinum again have been stuck in a in a range for for many years. Platinum used to trade at a premium to gold. Um, which in today's money obviously would mean a platinum price per ounce of well over $4,000 an ounce. Um, almost double where platinum trades today after a very big strong rally. So, I think people looking at platinum as well and thinking is that

the next one? >> People definitely are wondering about what's going to happen next for platinum after spending years in those rangebound levels. So do you do you see that as conceivable as likely that platinum could go back to trading at that premium to gold at some point during this cycle? >> Yeah, because we're in a world where um you know this is a precious metals bull cycle. Uh I don't know if I've seen a better cycle or a more you know sharp upswing for gold, silver and other

precious metals certainly in my career. you know, you got to look back to probably the the gold peak of 2011 for something similar. Um, but you know, back in those days, um, you had a significantly higher, you know, platinum price visa fee gold. So, I think people are looking at that today and saying that this is a precious metals bull market. And, you know, it's really anybody's guess as to how high this could go. >> It really, it really is. Those higher prices are getting more and more

realistic as time goes on. And I know you're not so much of a price predicting type of person, but looking at gold and silver in 2026, do you have a range in mind? Probably a direction in mind would be up, but anything that you can say? >> Yeah, I mean I I don't know. I mean, it's something that, you know, could gold get to to 5,000, 6,000? I mean, it's anybody's guess, but I think, you know, when I was thinking about the gold price, so towards the end of last year, I thought, you know, gold was definitely

going to hit 4,000 an ounce. Um, and my my sort of view was that would happen sometime this year. And obviously that happened before the end of last year. So I think we're just in a in a very unusual situation where um you know gold is rallying rallying hard along with other precious metals and we'll have to see how far that can go. I mean when we look back to other you know periods like 1980 you know the price of gold moved I think it was eightfold um from sort of trough to peak in that time and so

clearly when you look back on some of those other periods for for gold and silver particularly where they went [snorts] to all-time highs um then we could be talking about a lot higher price than we are today. Well, and maybe a better way to look at it, it does feel like we're in kind of an acceleration phase. I I know not just you, there's many people I've spoken to, they give a price prediction and it comes way sooner than they had expected. So, do you think that type of acceleration is is set to

continue? >> Well, I think what people would say, myself included, is if you look at gold um through the lens of different ratios, some sometimes u an interesting way to look at it. So if you look at gold silver ratio or if you look at something like the Dow gold ratio or gold against the Msei world or these other ratios then I think it certainly shows you that gold has further to go against equities. Um if you look at historical uh ratios so just based upon a gold versus broad equity index it would show you that gold

has further to go and even with some of the other uh metal ratios and I and I think you know again going back to the the situation that we're in we're in a situation where there's global uncertainty the arguably the world order that people have been used to for the last sort of you know 50 years or whatever is is in the in the process of being upended. Maybe that's a bit dramatic, but you know, certainly for for some people that's how they see it. And from that perspective, we're moving

to from a globalized world to somewhat of a deglobalized world or a more polarized world. That brings more risks. Um, and you know, that's part of the reason why, you know, at this period people are people are stocking up on on assets such as gold. Well, you mentioned people are stocking up. Definitely, we can see that. To what extent do you think gold, silver, even platinum are becoming more more into the mainstream for investors? >> I I think this is a good question. There's sort of two parts to this that

um on the one hand, I think gold has never been more in people's consciousness than it is today. And I think we have to thank the the Bitcoin and crypto community for that, for really, you know, shining a spotlight on gold in perhaps in an ironic way because I don't think that was ever their intention, but um to to shine a light on an asset that is independent from the traditional financial system that's not subject to the traditional credit and counterparty risks, that can't be

printed like paper money, that sits independently, all of these sort of aspects that uh were told about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. I think people realized again or rerealized that hey this is what people have been saying about gold for thousands of years. Um so that that's sort of one thing that I can think of. >> And then the other thing I think is that um you know it's really just now that I'm starting to see more mainstream coverage of gold and the gold rally. Now, I look back to previous gold peaks

um whether it was 2011 or whether it was subsequently um in periods such as 2020, but when gold went to all-time highs, it was almost as if the world was about to fall apart. You'd have on mainstream, you know, shows, whether it was the front page of major newspapers, they would be talking about golds in a bubble, golds in a bubble, golds in a bubble all the time. And this time, at least for the last couple, I haven't heard any of this. And it's really I think only recently that it started to

to sort of raise its head in the mainstream sort of publications where I I see some like proper discussion coverage of what's going on in gold uh what's going on in silver. So from that perspective I think if you look on a sort of a bubble meter or something like that then just anecdotally I would say that um we're still somewhat away from the mania that that we've seen in previous cycles. very interesting perspective. So, thank you for sharing that as well. And just as we're getting to the end here, any

final thoughts that you would leave investors with as we're heading into the new year? It seems like it's going to be a pretty interesting one. [snorts] >> Look, I think there's a lot of a lot of reasons to be optimistic um about 2026. You know, whenever there's geopolitical tensions, situations, you know, these things that that perhaps seem scary do create opportunities for investors for those that are willing to to take risk, those that are willing to think longer term. But it's also a case that, you

know, markets are, you know, at or around all-time highs. It's difficult to find something that is quote unquote undervalued. And I think that's why you know people are looking to commodities um for the first time in a long time and you know perhaps that might not be gold per se but are looking at things like platinum looking at other commodities which you know people haven't thought of or just the asset class more broadly um in terms of commodities. So, it's something that's getting a bit more um

conversation now, but as well, you know, if people are worried about uh markets or highs and just looking for to take a bit of more defensive stance, um then we see a lot of that, you know, manifesting in in gold as well moment. [snorts] >> Yeah, it looks like that is certainly a trend that will continue. So, thank you so much for coming on today to go over gold, silver, platinum, the markets. This was great. >> Thank you so much, Charlotte. Always a pleasure. Thank you for having me. Of

course. And once again, I'm Charlotte Mloud with investingnews.com and this is Will Rind with Granite Shares. Thank you for watching. [music] If you like this video, make sure you hit the like button and subscribe to our channel. We'd also love to hear your thoughts, so leave us a comment below.

 I'm Charlotte Mloud with investingnews.com and here today with me is Will Rind, CEO of Granite Shares. Thank you so much for being here. Always great to have you. [snorts] >> Good to see you, Charlotte. Thanks very much for having me. >> Of course. Great to be kicking off the new year with you and there's so much going on right now. We have gold and silver prices today either at or near all-time highs depending on how it's looking at just this moment. And this is all going on as we have Jerome Powell,

the Fed chair, facing a criminal investigation from the Trump administration. So, it's a pretty tricky situation right now. I know Trump is saying or sorry, Powell is saying this is all to do with the Fed's refusal to lower interest rates quickly enough. Trump is saying he doesn't have anything to do with this investigation. So, can you break down what you're seeing here? [sighs] >> Um, well, I think I'd like to think I suppose that it is a bit of political coercion that's just sort of being

ratcheted up to a new level. Um, based upon as as we all know, it's no secret that the administration wants interest rates lower. Um, that they've been unhappy with the fact that Powell has not lowered rates um to the level that they would like. Uh, of course his term ends in May officially and the administration's interviewing new candidates to uh replace Jerome Pal. But I think this is just a sort of a a ratcheting up of rhetoric around this whole issue of uh lowering rates and the

Fed independence. >> Yeah, I think ratcheting up is the right way to put it. And as we look forward at 2026 in terms of interest rates, is there is there anything we can say really with certainty right now? I I guess it feels like we're going lower. But anything in addition to that that you'd note? >> Yeah, I think um that's probably the right call um in terms of we continue on this path lower. I think before we know who the new Fed share is going to be, expectations I think in the market

probably came down a little bit or have come down a little bit um since that sort of barnstorming GDP number that we had uh at the end of last year. So I think any expectations around for example a cut here in January um and now probably off the table. So I think there is going to be um a cut more cuts but clearly we'll have to wait for the new Fed chair and the policy that he or she will will implement. >> And would you say your thoughts are similar on inflation where we need to wait and see how this scenario plays out

before we really know what's going to happen in 2026. >> Yeah. I mean, I think if we're talking about official, you know, CPI inflation, um, the the numbers look good. However, um, I think that the the full effects of the tariffs really have yet to to come through the system. So, while everything looks good, I think it's still too early to kind of plant the flag and claim victory. Um so everything looks okay now but I think this is the the real test in terms of this year will be a year plus

you know since a lot of these tariffs um got implemented and really will be past that point where you know ultimately whether it's um distributors whether it's product manufacturers supply chain uh people what they do about the pricing longer term as it sort of seems to solidify [snorts] >> great point about the tariffs. It feels like they've been left along the wayside a little bit with everything else that's going on. So, was there anything on that note that you would pull out for

investors that you're keeping an eye on? >> I I think is again just really the the passing on of those costs and you know how those costs are being absorbed. You know, so far to the extent that the consumer is absorbing the costs, the consumer seems to be absorbing um whatever costs in the system. Okay. And that's really why you see um inflation numbers in check. However, if that changes and either manufacturers choose to to put up prices or distributors um manufacturers etc. then we could see

that picture changing a little bit this year. >> And I also if we put these things together want to check in with you on your outlook for the US economy this year. Again I think there's there's a lot of things that we need to wait and see but any any initial thoughts there? Look, the the economy is in good shape. I think um you know that's the the main takeaway. You you saw a really strong GDP number in terms of some of these problems that that people talked about, you know, when the president came in. Um

inflation was sort of much much higher, some might say out of control. Um the deficit again in a in a bad situation. So these things have improved dramatically in a short period of time. You've got inflation which again we're not out of the woods yet but I think inflation is certainly uh much better at the moment than it was clearly 12 months ago. Deficit is looking a lot better. Again largely that's the impact of of tariffs uh on the situation and US importing less and uh exporting more. Um

but that picture is looking a lot better. unemployment has ticked up a little bit, but is still, you know, we're still talking about an economy that's largely in at full employment. So, there's a lot to be there's a lot to be, you know, there's a lot to be excited about. There's a lot to be happy about. Um, I think the last thing I'll say is going back to the markets, of course, is that, you know, companies still continue to to post strong earnings and we've got earnings across

the board that came in, you know, Q4, uh, strong. And so while companies continue to report uh strength and raising earnings expectations, you know, the market is going to go higher. >> Well, that is that's a good path. I did also want to talk to you about what's going on in the stock market because certainly I think in the precious metals sector, people are looking at it and thinking, well, this is overblown. We're due for a correction there. But, you know, what what are your thoughts given

what you're you're saying there? Yeah, I mean in in some respects there's a number of things going on, but you know with gold and precious metals more broadly. You know, first and foremost I'd start with it's a dollar story um probably is the is the main thing here and you know for the last 12 months or so the dollar has been uh on a downward trajectory which benefits hard assets but particularly gold uh and other precious metals. I think couple that with the geopolitical tensions um that

we see around the world which the the stock market you know has largely shrugged off um but I think that has been reflected more in the price of gold and price of precious metals more broadly um in terms of that elevated risk premium whether it was Russia Ukraine or whether it's Israel Gaza now you've got Venezuela you've got Iran thrown into the mix you've got the US being a bit more assertive um from militarily. And so from that perspective, you've got risk premiums increasing. And then of course add to

the add to that the latest news that we just talked about about the criminal probe um into Fed chair Geron Powell and you know you get that uncertainty that is reflected largely in the gold price um but other metals. So I think that you know you you're in this situation where on the one hand you have a stock market and economy doing well but the stock market seems to so far have shrugged off a lot of these risks that we're talking about are alive and well and manifest themselves in the gold market.

>> Yes. Yes. I think very much so. There are so many things alive and well under the surface that are probably going to come further to the four as we move on. And on the note of geopolitical tensions, I did want to bring up Venezuela. I know this is only really happening last week. It already feels like it's a little bit in the distance distant past just based on how quickly things are moving, but you know there's been a lot of focus there on what that could mean for the oil market. But what

about what about precious metals? What are you seeing as the potential impact there? >> Yeah, I mean I think it's twofold. So again, it it creates additional uncertainty. So the one part that we all know is the removal of Maduro and his wife. um the bit that everybody now doesn't know or at least the questions are being asked as to okay well what happens next and you know how does this play out not just over the next few few weeks the few months but next few years and there's uncertainty around that at

this point so that creates uncertainty uncertainty is good for gold I think the second part is that there's a question mark over while everyone's talking about oil Venezuela has a lot of natural resources including base metals, including precious metals and including rare earth uh metals which of course are critical in terms of the technology race particularly between US and China. And so that I think is a is a story that we'll learn more about going forward but so far it's really been

dominated by the oil conversation. Yeah, I think that's really interesting to talk about what it tells us about the growing importance of hard assets for countries around the world and there's been at least a little bit of discussion about all right so the US has done these actions in Venezuela does it mean it's going to make moves on different countries for example Greenland any any thoughts you would share there [snorts] >> yeah I mean I think again it's just um we're in a different sort of situation

now where uh I think the administration knows very clearly what they want um and what their sort of strategic priorities are and you know they're prepared to to try and use whatever means they can um to achieve those goals. Venezuela clearly being one of them and of course uh Greenland uh another. But I think this goes down this goes again back to on the one hand you know people will say that um there are geopolitical uh benefits to you know getting adversaries like the Russians the Chinese out of the

western hemisphere and of course that that is that is true and I'm sure that's a big part of it but the other part is access to to metals access to minerals access to energy particularly as we are facing this huge shortage of power uh when it comes to AI of basic materials when it comes to you know the electrification of everything in the economy and critical rare earth metal metals and minerals um to the most critical technologies be they consumer technologies uh or for national defense.

So I think it's all in the same mix. >> Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I definitely see what you're saying there and we've covered a lot of ground in terms of what we should be keeping an eye on for gold in 2026. Is there anything else that you would add to the list, things that you are watching in terms of factors that could move the gold price? >> Yeah, absolutely. Um, I think that, you know, the one thing that we haven't touched on are of course the fundamental factors and the fundamental factors have

kind of been left by the wayside a little bit with all the other stuff going on. um which of course is really in my opinion is the the main reason that gold's gone to all-time highs. However, you know, we can't ignore the fact that the fundamentals for gold and for other precious metals are incredibly strong. In other words, for the gold market in particular, central banks remain strong buyers, net buyers of gold. Um this is a trend that's been around for the last 10 years plus, but

it increases uh as [clears throat] we go forward. And so you have a big bid on the gold price from central banks around the world, from investors of course around the world. Um, this is something that's going on. Add that to silver, other metals like platinum and you have markets that have been underinvested in for years and therefore in in a situation where the market is in deficit. In other words, there's more demand for the metal than there is supply. And these are not things that can be corrected um very quickly. And so

that the fundamental picture is driving not just gold but silver and and platinum as well. >> Well, and let's make sure we talk about silver. And I think your answer also ties into what I was going to ask you. So silver, we typically hear gold moves first and then silver follows. So we've seen a massive breakout in silver since we last talked. Is it following gold higher or is it moving also because of its own silver specific factors? How are you seeing it? It's a bit of both. Um, and you know,

people will all always look to, you know, which one is the most, you know, persuasive um for their particular investment thesis. But in my mind, it was kind of inconceivable that you could have gold at an all-time high at least, you know, 6 12 months ago um and the price of silver not react in the way that you would have perhaps thought um at least historically. So, silver was always going to play that catch-up role to gold. Um, and historically in a market where, you know, gold prices are rising, then you would expect all things

being equal, silver prices to to rise slightly faster because it's a more volatile metal. Um, but that didn't happen until quite recently. And I think it's the confluence of factors whereby a lot of people perhaps thought that they'd missed out on gold. um after the silent rally that's happened in gold over the last couple of years, people started to look for the next uh metal to go so to speak um and found silver. Silver just so happened to also have great uh fundamentals. It was a market

in deficit. Um people started to buy silver. Price of silver was going up. And then I think the same thing is happening to platinum now where platinum again have been stuck in a in a range for for many years. Platinum used to trade at a premium to gold. Um, which in today's money obviously would mean a platinum price per ounce of well over $4,000 an ounce. Um, almost double where platinum trades today after a very big strong rally. So, I think people looking at platinum as well and thinking is that

the next one? >> People definitely are wondering about what's going to happen next for platinum after spending years in those rangebound levels. So do you do you see that as conceivable as likely that platinum could go back to trading at that premium to gold at some point during this cycle? >> Yeah, because we're in a world where um you know this is a precious metals bull cycle. Uh I don't know if I've seen a better cycle or a more you know sharp upswing for gold, silver and other

precious metals certainly in my career. you know, you got to look back to probably the the gold peak of 2011 for something similar. Um, but you know, back in those days, um, you had a significantly higher, you know, platinum price visa fee gold. So, I think people are looking at that today and saying that this is a precious metals bull market. And, you know, it's really anybody's guess as to how high this could go. >> It really, it really is. Those higher prices are getting more and more

realistic as time goes on. And I know you're not so much of a price predicting type of person, but looking at gold and silver in 2026, do you have a range in mind? Probably a direction in mind would be up, but anything that you can say? >> Yeah, I mean I I don't know. I mean, it's something that, you know, could gold get to to 5,000, 6,000? I mean, it's anybody's guess, but I think, you know, when I was thinking about the gold price, so towards the end of last year, I thought, you know, gold was definitely

going to hit 4,000 an ounce. Um, and my my sort of view was that would happen sometime this year. And obviously that happened before the end of last year. So I think we're just in a in a very unusual situation where um you know gold is rallying rallying hard along with other precious metals and we'll have to see how far that can go. I mean when we look back to other you know periods like 1980 you know the price of gold moved I think it was eightfold um from sort of trough to peak in that time and so

clearly when you look back on some of those other periods for for gold and silver particularly where they went [snorts] to all-time highs um then we could be talking about a lot higher price than we are today. Well, and maybe a better way to look at it, it does feel like we're in kind of an acceleration phase. I I know not just you, there's many people I've spoken to, they give a price prediction and it comes way sooner than they had expected. So, do you think that type of acceleration is is set to

continue? >> Well, I think what people would say, myself included, is v if you look at gold um through the lens of different ratios, some sometimes u an interesting way to look at it. So if you look at gold silver ratio or if you look at something like the Dow gold ratio or gold against the Msei world or these other ratios then I think it certainly shows you that gold has further to go against equities. Um if you look at historical uh ratios so just based upon a gold versus broad equity index it would show you that gold

has further to go and even with some of the other uh metal ratios and I and I think you know again going back to the the situation that we're in we're in a situation where there's global uncertainty the arguably the world order that people have been used to for the last sort of you know 50 years or whatever is is in the in the process of being upended. Maybe that's a bit dramatic, but you know, certainly for for some people that's how they see it. And from that perspective, we're moving

to from a globalized world to somewhat of a deglobalized world or a more polarized world. That brings more risks. Um, and you know, that's part of the reason why, you know, at this period people are people are stocking up on on assets such as gold. Well, you mentioned people are stocking up. Definitely, we can see that. To what extent do you think gold, silver, even platinum are becoming more more into the mainstream for investors? >> I I think this is a good question. There's sort of two parts to this that

um on the one hand, I think gold has never been more in people's consciousness than it is today. And I think we have to thank the the Bitcoin and crypto community for that, for really, you know, shining a spotlight on gold in perhaps in an ironic way because I don't think that was ever their intention, but um to to shine a light on an asset that is independent from the traditional financial system that's not subject to the traditional credit and counterparty risks, that can't be

printed like paper money, that sits independently, all of these sort of aspects that uh were told about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. I think people realized again or rerealized that hey this is what people have been saying about gold for thousands of years. Um so that that's sort of one thing that I can think of. >> And then the other thing I think is that um you know it's really just now that I'm starting to see more mainstream coverage of gold and the gold rally. Now, I look back to previous gold peaks

um whether it was 2011 or whether it was subsequently um in periods such as 2020, but when gold went to all-time highs, it was almost as if the world was about to fall apart. You'd have on mainstream, you know, shows, whether it was the front page of major newspapers, they would be talking about golds in a bubble, golds in a bubble, golds in a bubble all the time. And this time, at least for the last couple, I haven't heard any of this. And it's really I think only recently that it started to

to sort of raise its head in the mainstream sort of publications where I I see some like proper discussion coverage of what's going on in gold uh what's going on in silver. So from that perspective I think if you look on a sort of a bubble meter or something like that then just anecdotally I would say that um we're still somewhat away from the mania that that we've seen in previous cycles. very interesting perspective. So, thank you for sharing that as well. And just as we're getting to the end here, any

final thoughts that you would leave investors with as we're heading into the new year? It seems like it's going to be a pretty interesting one. [snorts] >> Look, I think there's a lot of a lot of reasons to be optimistic um about 2026. You know, whenever there's geopolitical tensions, situations, you know, these things that that perhaps seem scary do create opportunities for investors for those that are willing to to take risk, those that are willing to think longer term. But it's also a case that, you

know, markets are, you know, at or around all-time highs. It's difficult to find something that is quote unquote undervalued. And I think that's why you know people are looking to commodities um for the first time in a long time and you know perhaps that might not be gold per se but are looking at things like platinum looking at other commodities which you know people haven't thought of or just the asset class more broadly um in terms of commodities. So, it's something that's getting a bit more um

conversation now, but as well, you know, if people are worried about uh markets or highs and just looking for to take a bit of more defensive stance, um then we see a lot of that, you know, manifesting in in gold as well moment. [snorts] >> Yeah, it looks like that is certainly a trend that will continue. So, thank you so much for coming on today to go over gold, silver, platinum, the markets. This was great. >> Thank you so much, Charlotte. Always a pleasure. Thank you for having me. Of

course. And once again, I'm Charlotte Mloud with investingnews.com and this is Will Rind with Granite Shares. Thank you for watching. [music] If you like this video, make sure you hit the like button and subscribe to our channel. We'd also love to hear your thoughts, so leave us a comment below.

 I'm Charlotte Mloud with investingnews.com and here today with me is Will Rind, CEO of Granite Shares. Thank you so much for being here. Always great to have you. [snorts] >> Good to see you, Charlotte. Thanks very much for having me. >> Of course. Great to be kicking off the new year with you and there's so much going on right now. We have gold and silver prices today either at or near all-time highs depending on how it's looking at just this moment. And this is all going on as we have Jerome Powell,

the Fed chair, facing a criminal investigation from the Trump administration. So, it's a pretty tricky situation right now. I know Trump is saying or sorry, Powell is saying this is all to do with the Fed's refusal to lower interest rates quickly enough. Trump is saying he doesn't have anything to do with this investigation. So, can you break down what you're seeing here? [sighs] >> Um, well, I think I'd like to think I suppose that it is a bit of political coercion that's just sort of being

ratcheted up to a new level. Um, based upon as as we all know, it's no secret that the administration wants interest rates lower. Um, that they've been unhappy with the fact that Powell has not lowered rates um to the level that they would like. Uh, of course his term ends in May officially and the administration's interviewing new candidates to uh replace Jerome Pal. But I think this is just a sort of a a ratcheting up of rhetoric around this whole issue of uh lowering rates and the

Fed independence. >> Yeah, I think ratcheting up is the right way to put it. And as we look forward at 2026 in terms of interest rates, is there is there anything we can say really with certainty right now? I I guess it feels like we're going lower. But anything in addition to that that you'd note? >> Yeah, I think um that's probably the right call um in terms of we continue on this path lower. I think before we know who the new Fed share is going to be, expectations I think in the market

probably came down a little bit or have come down a little bit um since that sort of barnstorming GDP number that we had uh at the end of last year. So I think any expectations around for example a cut here in January um and now probably off the table. So I think there is going to be um a cut more cuts but clearly we'll have to wait for the new Fed chair and the policy that he or she will will implement. >> And would you say your thoughts are similar on inflation where we need to wait and see how this scenario plays out

before we really know what's going to happen in 2026. >> Yeah. I mean, I think if we're talking about official, you know, CPI inflation, um, the the numbers look good. However, um, I think that the the full effects of the tariffs really have yet to to come through the system. So, while everything looks good, I think it's still too early to kind of plant the flag and claim victory. Um so everything looks okay now but I think this is the the real test in terms of this year will be a year plus

you know since a lot of these tariffs um got implemented and really will be past that point where you know ultimately whether it's um distributors whether it's product manufacturers supply chain uh people what they do about the pricing longer term as it sort of seems to solidify [snorts] >> great point about the tariffs. It feels like they've been left along the wayside a little bit with everything else that's going on. So, was there anything on that note that you would pull out for

investors that you're keeping an eye on? >> I I think is again just really the the passing on of those costs and you know how those costs are being absorbed. You know, so far to the extent that the consumer is absorbing the costs, the consumer seems to be absorbing um whatever costs in the system. Okay. And that's really why you see um inflation numbers in check. However, if that changes and either manufacturers choose to to put up prices or distributors um manufacturers etc. then we could see

that picture changing a little bit this year. >> And I also if we put these things together want to check in with you on your outlook for the US economy this year. Again I think there's there's a lot of things that we need to wait and see but any any initial thoughts there? Look, the the economy is in good shape. I think um you know that's the the main takeaway. You you saw a really strong GDP number in terms of some of these problems that that people talked about, you know, when the president came in. Um

inflation was sort of much much higher, some might say out of control. Um the deficit again in a in a bad situation. So these things have improved dramatically in a short period of time. You've got inflation which again we're not out of the woods yet but I think inflation is certainly uh much better at the moment than it was clearly 12 months ago. Deficit is looking a lot better. Again largely that's the impact of of tariffs uh on the situation and US importing less and uh exporting more. Um

but that picture is looking a lot better. unemployment has ticked up a little bit, but is still, you know, we're still talking about an economy that's largely in at full employment. So, there's a lot to be there's a lot to be, you know, there's a lot to be excited about. There's a lot to be happy about. Um, I think the last thing I'll say is going back to the markets, of course, is that, you know, companies still continue to to post strong earnings and we've got earnings across

the board that came in, you know, Q4, uh, strong. And so while companies continue to report uh strength and raising earnings expectations, you know, the market is going to go higher. >> Well, that is that's a good path. I did also want to talk to you about what's going on in the stock market because certainly I think in the precious metals sector, people are looking at it and thinking, well, this is overblown. We're due for a correction there. But, you know, what what are your thoughts given

what you're you're saying there? Yeah, I mean in in some respects there's a number of things going on, but you know with gold and precious metals more broadly. You know, first and foremost I'd start with it's a dollar story um probably is the is the main thing here and you know for the last 12 months or so the dollar has been uh on a downward trajectory which benefits hard assets but particularly gold uh and other precious metals. I think couple that with the geopolitical tensions um that

we see around the world which the the stock market you know has largely shrugged off um but I think that has been reflected more in the price of gold and price of precious metals more broadly um in terms of that elevated risk premium whether it was Russia Ukraine or whether it's Israel Gaza now you've got Venezuela you've got Iran thrown into the mix you've got the US being a bit more assertive um from militarily. And so from that perspective, you've got risk premiums increasing. And then of course add to

the add to that the latest news that we just talked about about the criminal probe um into Fed chair Geron Powell and you know you get that uncertainty that is reflected largely in the gold price um but other metals. So I think that you know you you're in this situation where on the one hand you have a stock market and economy doing well but the stock market seems to so far have shrugged off a lot of these risks that we're talking about are alive and well and manifest themselves in the gold market.

>> Yes. Yes. I think very much so. There are so many things alive and well under the surface that are probably going to come further to the four as we move on. And on the note of geopolitical tensions, I did want to bring up Venezuela. I know this is only really happening last week. It already feels like it's a little bit in the distance distant past just based on how quickly things are moving, but you know there's been a lot of focus there on what that could mean for the oil market. But what

about what about precious metals? What are you seeing as the potential impact there? >> Yeah, I mean I think it's twofold. So again, it it creates additional uncertainty. So the one part that we all know is the removal of Maduro and his wife. um the bit that everybody now doesn't know or at least the questions are being asked as to okay well what happens next and you know how does this play out not just over the next few few weeks the few months but next few years and there's uncertainty around that at

this point so that creates uncertainty uncertainty is good for gold I think the second part is that there's a question mark over while everyone's talking about oil Venezuela has a lot of natural resources including base metals, including precious metals and including rare earth uh metals which of course are critical in terms of the technology race particularly between US and China. And so that I think is a is a story that we'll learn more about going forward but so far it's really been

dominated by the oil conversation. Yeah, I think that's really interesting to talk about what it tells us about the growing importance of hard assets for countries around the world and there's been at least a little bit of discussion about all right so the US has done these actions in Venezuela does it mean it's going to make moves on different countries for example Greenland any any thoughts you would share there [snorts] >> yeah I mean I think again it's just um we're in a different sort of situation

now where uh I think the administration knows very clearly what they want um and what their sort of strategic priorities are and you know they're prepared to to try and use whatever means they can um to achieve those goals. Venezuela clearly being one of them and of course uh Greenland uh another. But I think this goes down this goes again back to on the one hand you know people will say that um there are geopolitical uh benefits to you know getting adversaries like the Russians the Chinese out of the

western hemisphere and of course that that is that is true and I'm sure that's a big part of it but the other part is access to to metals access to minerals access to energy particularly as we are facing this huge shortage of power uh when it comes to AI of basic materials when it comes to you know the electrification of everything in the economy and critical rare earth metal metals and minerals um to the most critical technologies be they consumer technologies uh or for national defense.

So I think it's all in the same mix. >> Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I definitely see what you're saying there and we've covered a lot of ground in terms of what we should be keeping an eye on for gold in 2026. Is there anything else that you would add to the list, things that you are watching in terms of factors that could move the gold price? >> Yeah, absolutely. Um, I think that, you know, the one thing that we haven't touched on are of course the fundamental factors and the fundamental factors have

kind of been left by the wayside a little bit with all the other stuff going on. um which of course is really in my opinion is the the main reason that gold's gone to all-time highs. However, you know, we can't ignore the fact that the fundamentals for gold and for other precious metals are incredibly strong. In other words, for the gold market in particular, central banks remain strong buyers, net buyers of gold. Um this is a trend that's been around for the last 10 years plus, but

it increases uh as [clears throat] we go forward. And so you have a big bid on the gold price from central banks around the world, from investors of course around the world. Um, this is something that's going on. Add that to silver, other metals like platinum and you have markets that have been underinvested in for years and therefore in in a situation where the market is in deficit. In other words, there's more demand for the metal than there is supply. And these are not things that can be corrected um very quickly. And so

that the fundamental picture is driving not just gold but silver and and platinum as well. >> Well, and let's make sure we talk about silver. And I think your answer also ties into what I was going to ask you. So silver, we typically hear gold moves first and then silver follows. So we've seen a massive breakout in silver since we last talked. Is it following gold higher or is it moving also because of its own silver specific factors? How are you seeing it? It's a bit of both. Um, and you know,

people will all always look to, you know, which one is the most, you know, persuasive um for their particular investment thesis. But in my mind, it was kind of inconceivable that you could have gold at an all-time high at least, you know, 6 12 months ago um and the price of silver not react in the way that you would have perhaps thought um at least historically. So, silver was always going to play that catch-up role to gold. Um, and historically in a market where, you know, gold prices are rising, then you would expect all things

being equal, silver prices to to rise slightly faster because it's a more volatile metal. Um, but that didn't happen until quite recently. And I think it's the confluence of factors whereby a lot of people perhaps thought that they'd missed out on gold. um after the silent rally that's happened in gold over the last couple of years, people started to look for the next uh metal to go so to speak um and found silver. Silver just so happened to also have great uh fundamentals. It was a market

in deficit. Um people started to buy silver. Price of silver was going up. And then I think the same thing is happening to platinum now where platinum again have been stuck in a in a range for for many years. Platinum used to trade at a premium to gold. Um, which in today's money obviously would mean a platinum price per ounce of well over $4,000 an ounce. Um, almost double where platinum trades today after a very big strong rally. So, I think people looking at platinum as well and thinking is that

the next one? >> People definitely are wondering about what's going to happen next for platinum after spending years in those rangebound levels. So do you do you see that as conceivable as likely that platinum could go back to trading at that premium to gold at some point during this cycle? >> Yeah, because we're in a world where um you know this is a precious metals bull cycle. Uh I don't know if I've seen a better cycle or a more you know sharp upswing for gold, silver and other

precious metals certainly in my career. you know, you got to look back to probably the the gold peak of 2011 for something similar. Um, but you know, back in those days, um, you had a significantly higher, you know, platinum price visa fee gold. So, I think people are looking at that today and saying that this is a precious metals bull market. And, you know, it's really anybody's guess as to how high this could go. >> It really, it really is. Those higher prices are getting more and more

realistic as time goes on. And I know you're not so much of a price predicting type of person, but looking at gold and silver in 2026, do you have a range in mind? Probably a direction in mind would be up, but anything that you can say? >> Yeah, I mean I I don't know. I mean, it's something that, you know, could gold get to to 5,000, 6,000? I mean, it's anybody's guess, but I think, you know, when I was thinking about the gold price, so towards the end of last year, I thought, you know, gold was definitely

going to hit 4,000 an ounce. Um, and my my sort of view was that would happen sometime this year. And obviously that happened before the end of last year. So I think we're just in a in a very unusual situation where um you know gold is rallying rallying hard along with other precious metals and we'll have to see how far that can go. I mean when we look back to other you know periods like 1980 you know the price of gold moved I think it was eightfold um from sort of trough to peak in that time and so

clearly when you look back on some of those other periods for for gold and silver particularly where they went [snorts] to all-time highs um then we could be talking about a lot higher price than we are today. Well, and maybe a better way to look at it, it does feel like we're in kind of an acceleration phase. I I know not just you, there's many people I've spoken to, they give a price prediction and it comes way sooner than they had expected. So, do you think that type of acceleration is is set to

continue? >> Well, I think what people would say, myself included, is if you look at gold um through the lens of different ratios, some sometimes u an interesting way to look at it. So if you look at gold silver ratio or if you look at something like the Dow gold ratio or gold against the Msei world or these other ratios then I think it certainly shows you that gold has further to go against equities. Um if you look at historical uh ratios so just based upon a gold versus broad equity index it would show you that gold

has further to go and even with some of the other uh metal ratios and I and I think you know again going back to the the situation that we're in we're in a situation where there's global uncertainty the arguably the world order that people have been used to for the last sort of you know 50 years or whatever is is in the in the process of being upended. Maybe that's a bit dramatic, but you know, certainly for for some people that's how they see it. And from that perspective, we're moving

to from a globalized world to somewhat of a deglobalized world or a more polarized world. That brings more risks. Um, and you know, that's part of the reason why, you know, at this period people are people are stocking up on on assets such as gold. Well, you mentioned people are stocking up. Definitely, we can see that. To what extent do you think gold, silver, even platinum are becoming more more into the mainstream for investors? >> I I think this is a good question. There's sort of two parts to this that

um on the one hand, I think gold has never been more in people's consciousness than it is today. And I think we have to thank the the Bitcoin and crypto community for that, for really, you know, shining a spotlight on gold in perhaps in an ironic way because I don't think that was ever their intention, but um to to shine a light on an asset that is independent from the traditional financial system that's not subject to the traditional credit and counterparty risks, that can't be

printed like paper money, that sits independently, all of these sort of aspects that uh were told about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. I think people realized again or rerealized that hey this is what people have been saying about gold for thousands of years. Um so that that's sort of one thing that I can think of. >> And then the other thing I think is that um you know it's really just now that I'm starting to see more mainstream coverage of gold and the gold rally. Now, I look back to previous gold peaks

um whether it was 2011 or whether it was subsequently um in periods such as 2020, but when gold went to all-time highs, it was almost as if the world was about to fall apart. You'd have on mainstream, you know, shows, whether it was the front page of major newspapers, they would be talking about golds in a bubble, golds in a bubble, golds in a bubble all the time. And this time, at least for the last couple, I haven't heard any of this. And it's really I think only recently that it started to

to sort of raise its head in the mainstream sort of publications where I I see some like proper discussion coverage of what's going on in gold uh what's going on in silver. So from that perspective I think if you look on a sort of a bubble meter or something like that then just anecdotally I would say that um we're still somewhat away from the mania that that we've seen in previous cycles. very interesting perspective. So, thank you for sharing that as well. And just as we're getting to the end here, any

final thoughts that you would leave investors with as we're heading into the new year? It seems like it's going to be a pretty interesting one. [snorts] >> Look, I think there's a lot of a lot of reasons to be optimistic um about 2026. You know, whenever there's geopolitical tensions, situations, you know, these things that that perhaps seem scary do create opportunities for investors for those that are willing to to take risk, those that are willing to think longer term. But it's also a case that, you

know, markets are, you know, at or around all-time highs. It's difficult to find something that is quote unquote undervalued. And I think that's why you know people are looking to commodities um for the first time in a long time and you know perhaps that might not be gold per se but are looking at things like platinum looking at other commodities which you know people haven't thought of or just the asset class more broadly um in terms of commodities. So, it's something that's getting a bit more um

conversation now, but as well, you know, if people are worried about uh markets or highs and just looking for to take a bit of more defensive stance, um then we see a lot of that, you know, manifesting in in gold as well moment. [snorts] >> Yeah, it looks like that is certainly a trend that will continue. So, thank you so much for coming on today to go over gold, silver, platinum, the markets. This was great. >> Thank you so much, Charlotte. Always a pleasure. Thank you for having me. Of

course. And once again, I'm Charlotte Mloud with investingnews.com and this is Will Rind with Granite Shares. Thank you for watching. [music] If you like this video, make sure you hit the like button and subscribe to our channel. We'd also love to hear your thoughts, so leave us a comment below.