Volatile Metals Market Creates PCB Pricing Headache

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Market volatility for precious metals is very real. Financial organizations have reported elevated volatility, with record highs and steep corrections; in 2025 alone, gold has increased by over 60%, silver over 120%, and copper over 35%. Each is a critical raw material used in electronics manufacturing, where pricing is already fraught for business owners and their customers due to tariff uncertainty and a critical supply chain that resides mostly in China. The volatility of precious metals markets adds yet another layer of complexity for manufacturers, pushing up raw material costs.

Though it may seem obvious, analysts concur that the volatility is driven in large part by global macroeconomic data, shifting U.S. policy, and inflation numbers. Traders are rotating between risk assets (stocks, etc.) and safe havens (metals and, to a lesser degree, bonds). When investors make a run on metals and prices spike, other investors respond to those run-ups with a profit-taking sell-off, triggering a correction.

An industry-wide average puts silver at 3–8% of printed circuit board fabrication costs, gold at 5–15%, and copper, of course, leading the way at 15–25% of the total fabrication cost. An increase in copper prices of 20% over a year can trigger an increase in PCB fabrication costs of 3–5%, which may be the full profit margin for a company building production-level quantities of PCBs.

Looking at data from COMEX and the London Metal Exchange, the following table captures just how volatile prices have been in the first quarter of 2026. Gold’s volatility is mostly driven by investors, while silver is experiencing swings characterized by analysts as “speculative-grade volatility.” Copper may sit between the two, but copper’s volatility tends to come from high industrial demand countered by supply risks and tight inventory.

To continue reading this article, which appeared in the April 2026 edition of I-Connect007 Magazine, click here.