The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that metals have extended their dramatic start to the year -- with gold, silver, copper and tin all hitting record highs -- as investors bet on a boost from more U.S. rate cuts and improved Chinese financial markets. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says commodities have posted eye-watering gains since late 2025 as traders position themselves for a year in which the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to cut borrowing costs further to bolster U.S. growth. That has aided the case for base metals, while precious metals are also benefiting from renewed attacks on the Fed by the Trump administration and increasingly tense geopolitics. Silver jumped as much as 5.3 per cent to top $90 (U.S.) an ounce for the first time on Wednesday, while gold notched another all-time peak. The so-called debasement trade, in which investors avoid government bonds and currencies due to worries over ballooning debt levels, has also underpinned the rally, especially in precious metals. "It's as if we're in a perpetual state of backwardation in the white metals right now, silver especially," said UBS Group's Andrew Matthews on a media call. Backwardations generally result in higher prices.