Gold and Silver Update
On Friday, gold and silver prices saw an increase, although they were still on track for a second week of losses. The recent global tech sell-off, combined with a stronger U.S. dollar, has effectively wiped out the gains from a brief rally earlier this week.
As for gold, spot prices rose by 1.1% to reach $4,822.69 an ounce by 0320 GMT. However, for the week, it remains down by 1.2%. On the futures market, prices for gold set for April delivery dropped by 1% to $4,840.40 an ounce.
Silver’s spot price increased 0.4% to stand at $71.50 an ounce after a significant drop of 19.1% in the previous session. Trading for silver was particularly rocky on Friday, with prices plummeting 10% below the $65 mark—reaching their lowest in over a month and a half—before rebounding by as much as 3%.
For the week, silver is down roughly 16%, coming off an 18% decline the week before, marking its most substantial weekly loss since 2011.
Ilya Spivak, Head of Global Macro at TastyLive, remarked, “Risk appetite does seem to be fading. Stocks are generally on the decline, and Bitcoin appears to be struggling too. There’s clear evidence that risk sentiment is weakening all around. In this scenario, gold is managing to hold steady, while silver is feeling the pressure.”
Global stock markets continued their downward trend into a third consecutive session, with Wall Street’s sell-off intensifying. Precious metals and cryptocurrencies are also facing increased volatility.
Regarding the fluctuations in precious metal prices, ANZ analyst Soni Kumari explained, “They dropped sharply yesterday but have now rebounded. Overnight developments didn’t really change much. The current correction in gold and silver comes just before the Lunar New Year, which might encourage more buying from Chinese consumers.” She also noted that short-term volatility is likely to persist until some weaker positions are resolved.
The U.S. dollar is hovering near a two-week high and may hit its highest weekly value since November. A stronger dollar tends to make dollar-denominated assets more expensive for holders of other currencies.
In the broader market, platinum faced a decline, falling 3.6% to $1,916.60 an ounce after reaching an all-time high of $2,918.80 on January 26. Meanwhile, palladium saw a modest rise of 1.4%, reaching $1,639.18, although both metals have also experienced losses this week.
