Gold Sinks to One-Year Low Near $3,880 as Silver Breaks Below $50
Gold fell to about $3,880 an ounce on Friday, its lowest price in a year, as rising oil prices and a tech-stock selloff drove investors out of precious metals.
Spot gold dropped 3.5% to $3,880.97 by 2:13 p.m. ET, its lowest level since October 2025, CNBC-TV18 reported. December gold futures settled down 3.3% at $3,898.90.
Gold now sits about 30% below the record $5,595 it set in January. Silver fell 6.5% to $49, slipping below $50 for the first time in 11 months.
Silver is down nearly 9% for the week, its worst weekly decline since early June, according to Kitco News. Gold is down nearly 3% on the week.
The monthly picture is worse. Gold is on track for a roughly 6% drop in October, its worst October since 2008, Mining.com reported. Silver is down about 18% for the month.
Oil and the Fed Weigh on Metals
Analysts tied the slide largely to oil. Brent crude hit its highest level since April on the prospect of renewed U.S. action against Iran and an attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.
Higher energy costs have revived inflation worries. The Federal Reserve raised rates in September for the first time since July 2023, and traders now see a better than 70% chance of another hike in December.
“If the economy stays strong the Fed can continue to raise interest rates, which means gold will continue to have a target on its back,” Philip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures, told Kitco.
Gold pays no interest, so higher rates raise the cost of holding it. Kitco noted the metal fell even as the dollar and bond yields weakened, moves that would normally support prices.
Friday’s tech rout added pressure. Commerzbank analysts said the stock slide may have triggered margin calls and forced selling of gold, though they expect a recovery, according to CNBC-TV18.
“The sky is falling,” independent metals trader Tai Wong said. “Metals will not be able to escape the gravity well of a nasty stock correction.”
“Gold is liquid, so it is the first thing that gets sold when people need cash,” Waleed Said, a technical analyst at GivTrade, told Kitco. He expects prices to eventually test support at $3,800.
Mining stocks took heavier hits. Newmont, the world’s largest gold miner, fell 5%, while Agnico Eagle dropped 6.7%, Barrick 5% and Kinross 7.7%, Mining.com reported.
North America’s five most valuable gold companies have now lost almost $140 billion in combined market value from their 52-week highs.
Physical demand offered little cushion. Buyers in India held off this week awaiting lower prices, and demand in China stayed muted, Mining.com reported. Some analysts say central bank buying tends to pick up below $4,000.
It now takes 79 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold, the most in 11 months. Traders’ next tests come with Tuesday’s midterm elections and Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report, Kitco noted.
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