Gold fell to a one-year low on Friday and silver slid below $50 an ounce for the first time since November 2025, closing out a brutal October for precious metals as a rout in technology stocks, forced selling and hardening bets on higher interest rates combined into one of the worst days for bullion in years. Spot gold dropped 3.5 per cent to $3,880.97 an ounce, its lowest level since October 2025, while spot silver fell 6.5 per cent to about $49, in a selloff that dragged platinum and palladium down with it and pushed mining shares as much as 8 per cent lower.
The scale of the move stunned a market that had spent most of the year treating gold as a haven. Gold is now down roughly 30 per cent from the record high of $5,595 it reached in January, and it is on course for a drop of about 6 per cent in October alone, its worst October since the global financial crisis year of 2008 and its second straight monthly decline. Silver, which had run much further during the summer, fared worse on the week, falling nearly 9 per cent for its worst weekly showing since early June.
Friday's selloff gathered pace through the New York session. Spot gold fell as much as 3.2 per cent in morning trading to $3,891.67 an ounce, its weakest since late October last year, before settling the day down 3.5 per cent at $3,880.97. US gold futures for December delivery dropped 3.3 per cent to $3,898.90, while front-month November Comex gold fell 3.3 per cent to $3,885.70, its lowest settlement since October 3, 2025. For the full week, gold declined about 2.7 per cent.
Silver's fall was sharper. Spot silver slid 5.8 per cent in morning trading to $49.34 and ended the day down about 6.5 per cent at roughly $49, its first time under $50 since November 2025. Front-month November Comex silver sank 5.9 per cent to $49.097, its lowest close since November 7, and silver fell 8.6 per cent over the week. Platinum was last down 4.2 per cent at $1,425.02, while palladium lost 3 per cent to $976.08 under pressure from worries about auto-sector demand. Gold and silver producers fell as much as 8 per cent, and the big exchange-traded funds felt it too: the SPDR Gold Shares fund hit a fresh 52-week low while the iShares Silver Trust sank to its lowest in more than 11 months.
The metals fell even as global stock markets plunged, breaking the usual pattern in which trouble in equities sends investors running to gold. That unusual combination was itself a clue to what was happening: rather than a flight to safety, Friday looked like a scramble for cash.
Gold's round trip this year has been extraordinary. Bullion set a record high of $5,595 in January, with a record close of $5,419.83 on January 28, on bets that interest rates would fall and that geopolitical tension would keep haven demand strong. From a late-summer peak of roughly $4,600 to $4,700, however, the metal has fallen about 14 to 16 per cent, sliding below $4,000 for the first time since July a week before Friday's rout. Silver ran even harder and has now fallen further, down about 17.7 per cent in less than a month from its $60.82 high, which has pushed the gold-silver ratio to its highest since December.
The backdrop shifted this week. Data on Thursday showed US inflation accelerated in September as consumers paid more for gasoline and other goods, bolstering expectations of a rate hike in December. The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate steady at 3.75 to 4 per cent this week and the European Central Bank also held rates steady, but both pointed to inflation risks from surging energy costs. Wars in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine have pushed oil prices higher, and according to the CME FedWatch Tool, the odds of a December rate hike now top 73 per cent. Gold, which pays no interest, struggles when rates are expected to stay higher for longer, and Friday's data gave that view fresh force.
Physical demand has not stepped in to catch the fall. Demand in India remained subdued this week as buyers held off in anticipation of lower prices, Reuters reported, and demand in top consumer China stayed muted, even as Asian investors have been picking up gold-backed funds that North American investors are dumping. The iShares Silver Trust is down more than 32 per cent so far in 2026 while the SPDR Gold Shares fund has declined about 10 per cent.
Three forces converged on Friday, and together they explain why a haven asset fell on a day when stocks fell too. First, technology shares slumped amid worries that huge AI spending may not deliver sufficient returns. Earnings have been the foundation of the AI rally, and signs of cracks in that pillar spread quickly through markets that had priced in years of AI-driven growth.
Second, that equity slump appears to have forced selling in metals. Analysts at Commerzbank said in a note that Friday's sharp fall in technology stocks may have led to forced selling of safe-haven assets such as gold, along with margin calls, as investors sold what they could to cover losses elsewhere. When leveraged positions unwind, even assets investors want to hold get sold.
Third, the interest-rate outlook turned more hostile. Higher energy prices and persistent inflation concerns strengthened expectations that US interest rates will stay high, and the September inflation reading hardened bets on a December hike. Gold's latest decline has also pushed it significantly below its 200-day moving average, which stands near $4,490 an ounce, a technical break that tends to accelerate selling by trend-following funds.
"The sky is falling," said independent metals trader Tai Wong. "Metals will not be able to escape the gravity well of a nasty stock correction. Earnings have been the foundation of the AI rally and now that pillar is showing some cracks."
Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals, told Reuters that even though major central banks held rates steady this week, the indication was that the "higher-for-longer theme prevails and that's weighing on precious metals." Grant added: "Ongoing concerns about inflation have multiple central banks continuing to tilt hawkish."
Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, told Bloomberg on Friday: "Higher oil prices are triggering a risk-off environment, which is triggering a Treasury rally. This is reducing liquidity for equities and gold is getting caught up in the momentum."
Not everyone sees only further falls. Analysts at Commerzbank said they expected a recovery in precious metals ahead, and CPM Group said gold and silver are probably within three to four trading days of a low, with gold near $3,959 and silver near $50. CPM put possible gold support at $3,800, while doubting $3,500, and silver support near $48, while doubting $40. Veteran trader Peter Brandt said silver's sharp decline was being driven by investors who bought above $90 to $100 an ounce and are now selling. Waleed Said, technical analyst at GivTrade, was more cautious, saying the path of least resistance remains lower.
Gold's fall matters well beyond commodity traders because it is a barometer of how markets read the economy. A one-year low in gold, at the same time as stocks are falling and rate-hike odds are rising, signals a market that is pricing in tighter money, stickier inflation and a shakier AI investment boom all at once. For ordinary savers, the SPDR Gold Shares fund's 52-week low and the iShares Silver Trust's 11-month low mean retirement and brokerage accounts holding precious-metal funds have taken a direct hit, with the silver fund down more than 32 per cent this year.
For the wider economy, the metals rout also reflects the energy-inflation channel that is complicating the Federal Reserve's job. Higher oil prices feed into gasoline and goods prices, September inflation already accelerated, and every extra signal that rates stay higher for longer raises borrowing costs for mortgages, cars and businesses. Analysts also note that central bank demand tends to strengthen whenever gold falls below $4,000, so the current level may test whether official buyers step in as they have in past selloffs.
Two events dominate the week ahead. Next Friday's employment report for October will give a critical read on the health of the US economy, after data on Thursday showed the economy grew in the third quarter at its fastest pace in a year, with consumers maintaining robust spending and businesses doubling down on investment in AI. A strong jobs report would reinforce the higher-for-longer case and keep pressure on gold; a weak one could revive rate-cut bets and give metals room to recover.
Tuesday's midterm elections on November 3 will also determine whether Democrats can wrest control of Congress away from President Donald Trump's Republican Party. Democrats are widely predicted to win the House of Representatives, but the Senate is more in doubt, and the outcome will shape fiscal policy, tariffs and the political backdrop for the Fed. Traders will watch $3,800 as the next downside target for gold if selling continues, and whether silver can hold near $48 to $50, the zone analysts flagged as support. Commerzbank's expectation of a recovery will be tested quickly: if forced selling has run its course, the metals could stabilise; if the tech rout deepens, the gravity well Tai Wong described could pull them lower still.
Spot gold fell 3.5 per cent to $3,880.97 an ounce, its lowest since October 2025, while US gold futures for December delivery settled 3.3 per cent lower at $3,898.90.
Silver dropped about 6.5 per cent to roughly $49 an ounce, its first time below $50 since November 2025, as the tech selloff triggered forced selling and margin calls, and as silver's sharper earlier run left it with further to fall.
Gold is down about 30 per cent from its January record of $5,595, and about 6 per cent in October, its worst October since 2008, with a second straight monthly decline.
September inflation accelerated and oil prices rose, strengthening expectations that rates will stay higher for longer. The Fed held rates at 3.75 to 4 per cent this week, and CME FedWatch odds of a December hike top 73 per cent, which weighs on non-yielding gold.
Next Friday's October jobs report, Tuesday's midterm elections, and the $3,800 level for gold and the $48 to $50 zone for silver, which analysts flagged as possible support.
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