Gold fell to its lowest in a year on Friday and silver dropped below $50 an ounce as rising oil prices hardened bets on another Federal Reserve rate hike and a deepening rout in technology stocks forced investors to sell the metals to cover losses elsewhere, dragging gold and silver producers down as much as 8%.
Spot gold fell as much as 3.2% to $3,891.67 an ounce, its weakest since Oct. 28 last year, and was trading down 2.7% at $3,910.53 by late morning in New York. Comex gold for December delivery dropped 3.1% to $3,907.90 an ounce after touching $3,900.90, a week after sliding below $4,000 for the first time since July.
Silver fared worse, sliding 5.8% to $49.34 an ounce, its first time under $50 since November 2025, and is down roughly 18% for the month. The metal has now given back everything it gained since early December, when it began the two-month run that carried it above $120. Comex silver for December delivery fell as much as 6.3% to $49.08 an ounce and was last down 5.9% at $49.31.
Volumes were heavy for this point in the session, with futures covering a nominal 18 million ounces of gold and 236 million ounces of silver changing hands on the Comex by midday in New York.
Gold is on track for a drop of about 6% in October, its worst showing for the month since 2008, when the global financial crisis was upending markets, and a second straight monthly decline. Bullion now trades about 28% below the record close of $5,419.83 it set on January 28.
The selling came from two directions. The prospect of renewed US military action against Iran, including an attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, pushed Brent crude to its highest since April and oil toward a fourth straight monthly gain, reinforcing the inflation worries that prompted the Fed in September to raise rates for the first time since July 2023. The Fed and the European Central Bank both held this week but pointed to inflation risks from surging energy costs, and data on Thursday showed US inflation accelerated in September; traders now price a more than 70% chance of a Fed hike in December.
“The indication was that the higher-for-longer theme prevails,” Peter Grant, senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals, told Reuters, adding that inflation worries have multiple central banks continuing to tilt hawkish.
At the same time, technology shares led global stocks lower for a second day as another round of disappointing earnings accelerated a rotation out of the artificial intelligence trade and into Treasuries, with the Nasdaq set for steep losses on worries about AI spending.
“Gold is getting caught up in the momentum,” said Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, who told Bloomberg that higher oil is triggering a risk-off bid for Treasuries that drains liquidity from equities and bullion alike. Trend followers are now testing long-term support in both metals, he added.
Analysts at Commerzbank said the fall in tech stocks may have prompted margin calls and forced selling, but called the decline in precious metals exaggerated and still expect a recovery.
Physical buyers are not stepping in yet. 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.
Silver’s slide has pushed the gold-silver ratio to its highest since December. Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said the divergence underscores silver’s vulnerability relative to gold, and that further liquidation by technically driven funds could open the door to the mid-$40s. Platinum dropped 4% to its lowest since September 2025 and palladium fell 3.1% to a June 2025 low.
Miners: almost $140 billion gone from the top five
Gold and silver producers fell further than the metals themselves on Friday, extending a slide that has left most of the sector a third or more below the highs set earlier this year and that knocked $264 billion off the world’s 50 largest miners in the third quarter.
Newmont, the world’s largest gold miner, dropped 5% by late morning in New York, cutting its market value to $110 billion and leaving the stock more than 20% below its 52-week high. Agnico Eagle Mines lost 6.7% to a $83 billion valuation and Barrick Mining fell 5% to $60 billion, with both now roughly a third off their peaks and Barrick down almost 16% for the year. Wheaton Precious Metals, the largest of the streaming companies, lost 5.1% and trades 30% below its high, while Franco-Nevada, down 2.2%, held up best of the group and sits 21% off its peak.
Kinross Gold was the worst of the majors, sliding 7.7% to the edge of its 52-week low. The Toronto-based company has shed 17% in October alone, has lost half its value from its high and is now worth $23 billion. Alamos Gold, down 5.2% a day after delaying a shaft at its Island Gold mine as costs rise, is also trading at a 52-week low and roughly half its peak, while Harmony Gold fell 7%, Gold Fields 6% and AngloGold Ashanti 5.8%, all three now about 40% below their highs. Eldorado Gold lost 4%, adding to Thursday’s drop on an 18% cut to its gold outlook.
Together, Newmont, Agnico, Barrick, Wheaton and Franco-Nevada, North America’s five most valuable gold companies, have lost almost $140 billion in combined market value from their 52-week highs, with Agnico alone accounting for more than $40 billion of that.
Silver producers have been hit hardest. Hecla Mining fell 6% on Friday and has lost 60% from its 52-week high, taking its market capitalization down to $9 billion. Coeur Mining dropped 6.2% to a $13.5 billion valuation, down 25% in October and 53% from its peak, and First Majestic Silver, down 6%, has lost more than half its value from its high. Pan American Silver fell 6.3%, leaving the Vancouver-based miner worth $16 billion and 44% below its high.
The damage is uneven over a longer horizon. Newmont is still up a third over the past 12 months and Barrick 15%, but Kinross is down 14% from a year ago and Coeur 28%.
(With files from Reuters and Bloomberg)
