Muscat: Spot silver jumped 3.8 per cent to $82.15 an ounce, after climbing to an intraday record of $83.62. The metal has now gained a staggering 181 per cent since the start of the year, driven by its classification as a critical US metal, limited supply, falling inventories and sustained demand from both industrial users and investors.

Gold prices, meanwhile, edged lower in spot trading, slipping 0.1 per cent to $4,527.79 an ounce after reaching a record high of $4,549.71 in the previous session. Despite the slight dip, sentiment around the yellow metal remained firm amid global uncertainty and rate-cut expectations. US gold futures for February delivery settled higher at $4,553.10 an ounce.

Among other precious metals, platinum fell 0.8 per cent to $2,429.10 an ounce after touching an all-time high of $2,478.50 earlier in the session, while palladium rose marginally by 0.1 per cent to $2,003.83 an ounce.