Precious metal prices have risen after the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro increased investors’ concerns about geopolitical risks.
Gold was about 2.2% higher at $4,424 (£3,292) an ounce, while the price of silver was up by 3.9%, as money was moved into so-called “safe-haven” assets.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices fell back and share indexes in Europe and Asia were mostly higher.
Both gold and silver hit record highs in 2025 before losing ground in the last few days of the year.
Despite dipping at the end of last year, gold still saw its best annual performance since 1979 after rising by more than 60%, reaching an all-time high of $4,549.71 on 26 December.
Those gains were driven by several factors including expectations of more interest rate cuts, major purchases of bullion by central banks and investor concerns about global tensions and economic uncertainty.
Oil fluctuated in early trade before slipping back as investors weighed whether Washington’s intervention in Venezuela would affect crude supplies. Brent crude was down 50 cents, or 0.8%, to $60.26 a barrel.
US President Donald Trump has vowed to tap into Venezuela’s vast oil reserves after seizing Maduro and said that the US will “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition”.
But industry analysts have said the move is unlikely to have an immediate impact on how much people and businesses pay for energy.
Experts have also said it would cost billions of dollars to fix Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, which has been in sharp decline since the early 2000s.
Venezuela’s crude production has been “lacklustre” for years and now only accounts for around 1% of global oil output, said investment strategist Vasu Menon from OCBC bank.
The former chief executive of BP, Lord Browne, told the BBC’s Today programme that for Venezuela to revive its oil production would take “a tremendous amount of skill investment and time”.
While there might be a “quick pick up” of some production, he added, output might actually fall while the industry is reorganising.
Stock markets in Europe opened higher, with the UK’s FTSE 100 index up 0.3% and close to the 10,000 mark that it hit for the first time on Friday.
Following the events of the weekend firms involved in the defence industry saw some of the biggest gains, with BAE Systems up 4.5% and Babcock International 3.6% higher.
Mining firms also rose following the gain in precious metals prices, with Fresnillo up 3.6%.
Share markets in Asia made gains as investors focused on news unrelated to developments in Venezuela.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up by 2.6% on the first day of trading of the year and new data showed that manufacturing activity stabilised in December.
Major indexes in South Korea and China were also higher.
The jumps reflect confidence that the fallout from events in Venezuela will remain distant, said Zavier Wong from investment firm eToro.
