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Robin Kolvenbach, CEO of Argor-Heraeus, holds a kilogram of silver and gold bars at the refiner and gold bar manufacturer Argor-Heraeus factory in Mendrisio, Switzerland, on July 13, 2022.
Dennis Balibus | Reuters
Gold and silver prices plunged on Friday, triggering a global sell-off in metals-related stocks and funds.
By 5:04 a.m. Eastern Time, spot silver It fell 15% to close at around $98.66 an ounce, falling below the $100 milestone.
spot silver
at the same time, spot gold It fell 7% to $5,009.46 an ounce.
spot gold
Precious metal prices on futures exchanges were also volatile, with the New York front-month gold contract falling 5.5%, while silver futures for February delivery fell 11%.
The sell-off affected the broader precious metals market, with spot platinum down more than 14% and palladium down nearly 12%.
The impact is also evident on global stock exchanges. In Europe, the regional Stoxx 600 Basic Resources Index, which includes the continent’s most valuable mining companies, fell 3.2% in early trading.
London listing FresnilloShares of the world’s largest silver producer recently fell 7%.
In premarket trading on Wall Street, silver miner Endeavor Silver fell 14.7% and First Majestic Silver fell 14.4%. Silver ETFs were also dragged down, with the ProShares Ultra Silver fund last down 25% before the open. The iShares Silver Trust ETF fell 12.7%.
Precious metals have been rising sharply over the past 12 months amid market volatility decline The decline in the value of the U.S. dollar, rising geopolitical tensions, and concerns about the independence of the Federal Reserve.
Gold and silver both posted record gains in 2025, surging 65% and 150% respectively during the year. These gains have essentially continued into 2026, with silver up 37% so far this year, while gold is up 15.4%.
‘Even good assets can sell off’
Katy Stoves, an investment manager at British wealth management firm Mattioli Woods, told CNBC on Friday morning that the move could be “a market-wide reassessment of concentration risk.”
“Just as tech stocks — especially AI-related stocks — have dominated market attention and capital flows, gold has similarly seen strong positioning and crowding,” she said. “When everyone is leaning the same way, even good assets can be sold off as positions are unwound. The similarity is no accident: Both represent areas where capital is pouring in based on strong narratives, and concentrated positions will eventually face their day of liquidation.”
Meanwhile, Toni Meadows, head of investments at BRI Wealth Management, believes it will be “too easy” for gold prices to rise to the $5,000 mark. He noted that unwinding of U.S. dollar positions had supported gold prices, but the U.S. dollar appeared to have stabilized.
“Central bank buying has fueled the long-term rebound, which has slowed in recent months,” he said. “Nonetheless, the case for further diversification of reserves remains as Trump’s trade policies and interference in foreign affairs will make many countries nervous about holding U.S. assets, especially those in emerging markets or those aligned with China or Russia. Silver will mirror the direction of gold, so it is not surprising that silver falls.”
A “perfect storm” of geopolitical tensions has helped the precious metal move higher this year, Claudio Wewel, currency strategist at J. Safra Sarasin Sustainable Asset Management, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday, pointing to the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Washington’s threats to use military force in Greenland and Iran.
Speculation about who will be nominated as the next Fed chair has been affecting metals markets recently, he said.
Global investors are looking forward to who will be nominated as the next Federal Reserve chair after U.S. President Donald Trump explain He will announce Jerome Powell’s successor on Friday. Former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, who served at the Fed during the 2008 financial crisis, is currently forecast markets’ favorite to win the job.
“The market has clearly priced in the risk from more dovish competitors, which has helped gold and other precious metals prices to a large extent. There has been some change in the news flow over the past 24 hours,” Wewel said.
