Global Banks Earn $5 Billion From 2026 Gold Rush

Global banks are projected to earn about $5 billion from precious metals trading in 2026, the highest figure on record. JPMorgan's profit: The bank earned around $700 million from gold, silver, and other precious metals trading in the first half of 2026 [...]

Historical record of profitability: World banks are expected to earn about 5 billion dollars from precious metals transactions in 2026; The highest figure recorded so far.

JPMorgan's 700 million dollar profit: This bank has earned about 700 million dollars in the first half of 2026 from the transactions of gold, silver and other precious metals.

Persistence of market risk: severe fluctuations can bring heavy losses for banks along with profitable opportunities.

Traders of precious metals in the world's largest banks have achieved unprecedented profits in the first half of this year. This process has put the banks on the way to record the best annual performance in their history; Because the significant increase in the demand of investors and the extreme fluctuations in prices have created extensive profit opportunities for traders.

JPMorgan, one of the main players in this market, has earned about $700 million in the first half of 2026 from trading and managing gold, silver and other precious metals. This figure has been announced by people familiar with the bank's performance, who did not want to reveal their names due to the confidentiality of the information. The best annual performance of this bank in this field goes back to 2020; when its profit was slightly more than one billion dollars.

According to informed sources, several other big banks have also made hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from precious metals transactions; An issue that has intensified competition in a market long dominated by JPMorgan.

According to the information of a person familiar with the performance of Deutsche Bank, the trading unit of this bank, which expanded its presence in the gold bullion market with a newsworthy action, has generated more than 200 million dollars in income since the beginning of this year.

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Globally, it is expected that banks will earn about 5 billion dollars from precious metals transactions this year; The figure, based on the data collection of the financial services analysis company "Crisil Coalition Greenwich" (Crisil Coalition Greenwich), will be the highest recorded so far.

Energy and metals trading has become a major revenue driver for Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. The trading desks of these companies can benefit from price fluctuations and market disruptions caused by global conflicts and trade tensions.

Meanwhile, precious metals have been particularly profitable. A wave of speculative buying pushed gold and silver prices to historic highs earlier this year.

During this price growth, financial instruments such as short-dated options and leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) became more popular.

Investors were looking for tools that would allow for faster increases in returns.

Trading desks also made significant profits from moving gold bars around the world. They took advantage of the price difference between the main world trading centers; Disputes created by arbitrage opportunities.

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"Most of the people I've spoken to here have had a very good year," Greg Frith, chief precious metals trader at Centalion Group, the global trading firm formerly known as Gunvor, said during a roundtable discussion at the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) conference in Italy this week. A record-breaking year."

To take advantage of the market's growing opportunities, several banks are looking to join a small group of financial institutions that provide bullion custody and settlement services in the London gold market, people familiar with the matter said. London is the largest gold bullion trading center in the world and these services are the main infrastructure of this market.

Earlier this year, Citigroup became the first new institution to enter this field after a decade. The bank joined JP Morgan, UBS, HSBC and ICBC Standard Bank.

According to Bloomberg's previous report, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley are also looking to enter this field.

Spokesmen for JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

Angad Chatwal, Head of Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities at Collision, says that the global income of banks from precious metals transactions reached a historical record last year and this upward trend continues.

He cited the reason for this growth as "the continuation of severe market fluctuations and the large participation of investors in the gold and silver markets."

January was particularly profitable for Pisces precious metals trading desks; Because speculators around the world started buying gold and silver and raised the price of these metals to unprecedented levels.

However, prices have pulled back somewhat since then. The outbreak of war in the Middle East sent energy prices soaring and reinvigorated expectations of monetary policy tightening and interest rate hikes.

Despite this retreat, the spot price of gold and silver is still more than double the levels at the beginning of 2024.

Of course, extreme fluctuations and significant price differences in the market do not always benefit traders. Such conditions can also bring heavy losses if the banks take a wrong trading position.