Silver rose to its highest level in nearly 12 years on Thursday, riding the coattails of gold's rally to record peaks as interest rate cuts by major central banks fuelled investment interest in precious metals.

Gold, traditionally perceived as a haven, has climbed roughly 30% this year, outperforming the benchmark S&P 500 index’s 20% gain. That has in part been driven by a jump in demand from central banks including in China, Turkey and India, who have added to their gold piles this year to diversify away from the US dollar.

Key Takeaways Gold prices rose to another record high on Wednesday, nearly crossing $2,700.Gold has risen 29% so far this year, outpacing the 20% gain for the S&P 500 stock index.The surge in gold prices this year is due to several factors,