Thanksgiving Week Rally: “Everything Up,” With Silver and Copper Hitting Record Highs

Market Overview

Despite a brief CME outage on Friday, market optimism remained firmly intact. The S&P 500 gained nearly 4% for the week — marking its best Thanksgiving performance since 2008 — and narrowly extended its winning streak to a seventh consecutive month. The Nasdaq, however, slipped 1.5% in November.

On the equity front, Apple surged to fresh all-time highs for five straight sessions, while Tesla advanced 10% for the week. Intel jumped 10% in a single day after upbeat forecasts from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Yet the AI sector showed sharp divergence in November: concerns over stretched valuations dragged NVIDIA, Oracle, and Palantir down 12%, 23%, and 16% respectively, while Alphabet rallied more than 14%, emerging as the months “new AI leader.”

In macro and FX markets, U.S. Treasury prices slipped after the holiday break but still notched a fourth straight monthly gain. The U.S. Dollar Index fell for five consecutive sessions, while the offshore yuan strengthened to a 13-month high. Crypto assets faced heavy selling pressure — Bitcoin dropped nearly 20% in November, its steepest monthly decline in more than three years. Commodities diverged: crude oil extended its four-month losing streak, while precious and industrial metals staged a broad rally, with gold hitting a two-week high and silver and LME copper both posting record-breaking gains.

Hot Topics to Watch● Silver Futures Hit Record Highs

Driven by concerns that new tariffs could increase cross-border shipping costs, traders have been engaging in “pre-tariff arbitrage” — moving gold, silver, copper, and other commodities between major storage hubs such as New York and London ahead of key tax deadlines.

According to ING analysts Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey, these flows were triggered by a recent supply squeeze that briefly pushed silver to historic highs. Data shows Chinas silver exports surged above 660 tons in October, marking the highest level on record.

● The Real ‘Whale’ Behind Gold: Tether

Stablecoin giant Tether has quietly become a major force in the gold market. As of September 30, Tether held 116 tons of gold, making it the largest single non-central-bank gold holder globally.

Gold prices have climbed roughly $2,000 across two major rallies this year, with the second wave coinciding with Tethers accelerated gold purchases.

This also implies that if demand for stablecoins were to reverse sharply, pressure could spill over into its massive gold reserves. Tethers aggressive accumulation may signal its long-term bet on the tokenization of physical gold.

Key Data to Watch Today (GMT+8)

22:45 — United States: November S&P Global Manufacturing PMI (Final)

23:00 — United States: November ISM Manufacturing PMI