Every year around this time, we update our Periodic Table of Commodities Returns to reflect the performance of raw materials in the first six months of the year. I’m biased, but few tools do a better job of providing a clear, interactive snapshot of the commodities landscape than ours.

Precious metals dominated in H1. As you can see in the chart below, the group—which includes gold, silver, platinum and palladium—absolutely crushed commodities as a whole, from industrial metals to energy and agricultural.

Platinum soared nearly 50%, followed by gold (+26%), silver (+25%) and palladium (+21%). Meanwhile, copper had its own standout run, driven by rising industrial demand and geopolitical catalysts.

After years of range-bound trading, platinum finally broke out in spectacular fashion. The metal surged from just over $900 an ounce in January to around $1,360 by the end of June, representing a 49.8% gain. In Q2 alone, it jumped 35.8%, closing the quarter at a price not seen since 2014.

A major factor for the spike was constrained supply. Platinum supply has historically been price inelastic in the short term, according to the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC). Even as prices surged, production remained sluggish, leading to persistent market imbalances. At the same time, demand remained firm, spanning industrial applications, jewelry and its emerging role in green hydrogen technologies.

Unlike its cousin palladium, which is heavily reliant on gasoline vehicle manufacturing, platinum benefits from a broader range of demand. It’s used in diesel catalytic converters, fuel cells and more. And as the world moves toward decarbonization, platinum’s future in hydrogen energy systems makes it increasingly strategic.

Gold has always been a barometer of uncertainty, and in 2025, investors had plenty to be uncertain about.

Geopolitical tensions flared again in the Middle East, with the Israel–Iran conflict intensifying. In April alone, gold hit five separate all-time highs. By the end of June, it had risen 25.9%, topping $3,300 per ounce. With central banks continuing to buy record amounts of bullion, especially in emerging markets, I believe the metal remains a clear beneficiary of macro concerns.

Physically backed gold ETFs attracted a stunning $38 billion in inflows during the first half of the year, marking the strongest performance since the pandemic-fueled rally of H1 2020. North American investors led the charge, adding $21 billion. Trading volumes surged across the board, averaging $329 billion a day globally—a new record, according to the World Gold Council (WGC).

There’s another trend at work: de-dollarization. Since the U.S. and its allies froze Russian central bank assets in 2022, many nations have grown increasingly wary of holding dollar-denominated reserves.

Gold, by contrast, is seen as politically neutral, and central banks have responded by diversifying into the yellow metal at an unprecedented pace. Institutions bought more in the last four years than in the previous two decades combined.

Silver’s story is a little different, but no less compelling.

It often rides gold’s coattails, and in 2025, it’s kept pace with the yellow metal, rising nearly 25% through June. Silver briefly surged above $37 in mid-June, levels not seen since 2011, before settling around $36.

The white metal stands to benefit from its dual role as both a precious and industrial metal. Demand is rising in green energy applications, particularly solar panels and battery storage. As central bank gold demand continues to outpace silver, I believe silver is undervalued on a relative basis. A return to the historical gold-silver ratio (around 80) could send silver back toward its all-time high of $50 an ounce.

Though not a precious metal, copper deserves an honorable mention. It finished the first half of the year up 16.2%, making it the best-performing base metal.

What’s driving copper’s rally? A perfect storm of supply fears, strong demand from artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers, and political noise from Washington.

President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement of a 50% tariff on imported copper this month sent U.S. copper futures to record highs, adding fresh volatility to an already tight market. And with global supply struggling to keep pace with demand, copper’s long-term fundamentals look incredibly strong.

Data centers alone are projected to require 127,000 megawatts (MW) of power by 2029, up from 82,000 this year. Each megawatt of capacity needs about 27 metric tons of copper. And that’s not even counting the metal’s role in electric vehicles (EVs), grid modernization and semiconductors.

Not all commodities shared in the rally. Several energy and agricultural materials ended the first half in the red.

Even lithium, once the darling of the EV boom, fell nearly 19%—a reflection of softening battery demand and oversupply from key producers in China and South America.

For contrarian investors, this could be an area to watch for opportunities in the second half of the year.

Precious metals have proven their worth once again as reliable hedges against inflation and geopolitical concerns. Central banks and fiscal imbalances continue to support long-term demand, especially for gold and platinum.

Industrial metals like copper are benefiting from secular shifts in technology and electrification. While energy and agriculture struggled, those sectors may offer attractive entry points for investors with a longer time horizon.

As always, our interactive Periodic Table of Commodities Returns makes it easy to compare commodity performance across years and sectors.