Gold prices gain on Iran optimism despite India import issues, silver producers see strong output in 2026

In their latest update, the analysts wrote that last week’s de-escalation talks between Iran and the United States helped to boost gold and equities as they drove oil prices lower.

“Oil prices fell on the news, prompting rallies of stocks and precious metals,” they said. “Brent Crude fell 6.2% as the S&P 500 rose 1.0%, while the gold and silver prices rallied by 2.7% and 5.1%, respectively. The correlation between precious metals, often viewed as safe havens, and stocks, often viewed as higher risk, is due to what impact a prolonged conflict would have on interest rates. If prices are to rise significantly, markets expect interest rates to also rise. This affects both gold, which earns no yield, and stocks, which are sensitive to the cost of money rising.”

The analysts noted that India’s gold imports have fallen due to an unclear legal situation.

“Banks in India have been unable to import gold and silver since the start of the new Indian tax year on 1 April,” they said. “This is due to India’s trade ministry delaying the publication of its list of banks eligible to import precious metals until 17 April. Since then, imports have not resumed owing to officials in ports and airports lacking clearance orders. There has also been a lack of clarity as to whether gold and silver are included in India’s Integrated Goods and Services Tax.”

“Gold imports into India in April 2026 were 0.66 moz, down from 0.94 moz in April 2025,” the analysts said. “India is the second largest jewellery market after China and has little domestic gold production and therefore has to import most of its gold.”

Meanwhile, China’s central bank increased its gold reserves for the 18th month straight, with April’s 8 tonne purchase dwarfing others year-to-date.

“This purchase is large compared to recent months, constituting nearly one-third of its total purchases of 26.1 tonnes since the end of April 2025 and taking the bank’s declared reserves to 2,321.5 tonnes as of the end of April 2026,” they wrote. “China’s reserves are the fifth-largest in the world, behind the US, Germany, Italy and France.”

Spot gold has pulled back from its earlier highs on Monday, and it last traded at $4,716.03 for a flat reading on the session.

Turning to silver, Heraeus analysts said silver producers are showing strong output and year-over-year growth.

“Pan American has reported attributable silver production of 6.44 moz in Q1’26, up by 29% year-on-year from 5.00 moz in Q1’25,” they said. “The increase was supported by consistent operational performance and a greater contribution of lower-cost ounces from the Juanicipio mine. These factors helped to reduce Pan American’s Silver Segment all-in sustaining cost (AISC) for the quarter to $6.63/oz from $13.88/oz in Q1’25.”

“Pan American reiterated its FY26 silver production guidance of 25-27 moz,” they added. “Mexico is the company’s largest silver-producing jurisdiction. Mexico produced 203 moz in 2025 and output is expected to be stable to slightly lower in 2026.”

Endeavour Silver also shared strong output and guidance. “Endeavour has reported silver production of 1.88 moz in Q1’26, up by 56% year-on-year from 1.21 moz in Q1’25,” the analysts wrote. “The increase was primarily driven by the contribution from the newly ramped-up Terronera and Kolpa mines. Endeavour’s AISC increased by 51% year-on-year to $37.03/oz, reflecting higher royalties, mining duties and the inclusion of higher-cost operations, though its AISC declined from $41.19/oz in Q4’25. The company stated it remained well-positioned to achieve its production goals for the remainder of 2026. The great majority of Endeavour’s silver production comes from Mexico, with its largest mine outside of Mexico being Kolpa in Peru.”

Silver prices have outperformed gold on Monday, hitting a high of $86.023 even as gold prices pulled back.

Spot silver last traded at $85.125 per ounce for a gain of 5.96% on the daily chart.