Silver, gold sell off as precious metals markets nosedive

Gold and silver prices fell on Friday, sparking a global sell-off in stocks and funds linked to the metals.

By 5:04 ET, spot silver It dropped 15% to settle around $98.66 per ounce, falling below the $100 milestone.

Meanwhile, spot gold It traded at $5,009.46 per ounce, down 7%.

Precious metal prices also fell on futures exchanges; Front-month gold contracts in New York lost 5.5%, while silver futures for February delivery fell 11%.

The selling wave also affected the precious metal market; While spot platinum decreased by more than 14%, palladium decreased by nearly 12%.

The impact was also seen in stock markets around the world. In Europe, the regional Stoxx 600 Basic Resources index, which includes the continent’s most valuable mining companies, fell 3.2% in morning trading.

Listed in London FresnilloThe world’s largest silver producer last saw a 7% decline.

Silver miner Endeavor Silver lost 14.7% in premarket trading on Wall Street, while First Majestic Silver lost 14.4%. Silver ETFs have taken action, with the ProShares Ultra Silver fund last seeing a 25% drop before the opening bell. iShares Silver Trust ETF lost 12.7%.

Precious metals have enjoyed a spectacular rally over the past 12 months amid broader market volatility, a decline in the US dollar, rising geopolitical tensions and concerns about the independence of the Federal Reserve.

Gold and silver have experienced record-breaking gains in 2025, rising 65% and 150% respectively for the year. These gains largely continued into 2026; It was noteworthy that silver increased by 37% and gold increased by 15.4% on an annual basis.

The moves are likely a “market-wide reassessment of concentration risk,” Katy Stoves, chief investment officer at British asset management firm Mattioli Woods, told CNBC on Friday morning.

“Just as technology stocks, particularly AI-related names, have dominated market attention and capital flows, gold has similarly been subject to intense positioning and crowding,” he said. “When everyone is leaning in the same direction, even good assets can be sold when positions unwind. The parallel is not coincidental: both represent areas where capital flows based on strong narratives, and concentrated positions eventually face a day of reckoning.”

Meanwhile, Toni Meadows, head of investment at BRI Wealth Management, argued that gold’s rise to $ 5,000 was “very easy”. He stated that the loosening of the dollar supported gold prices, but the dollar stabilized.

“Central bank purchases have driven the long-term rise, but this has tapered off in recent months,” he said. “There is still a possibility of further reserve diversification as Trump’s trade policies and interference in foreign affairs will make many countries nervous about holding US assets, especially those in emerging markets or tied to China or Russia. Silver will mirror the direction of gold, so it is not surprising to see declines there.”

A “perfect storm” of geopolitical tensions is helping precious metals move higher this year, Claudio Wewel, currency strategist at J. Safra Sarasin Sustainable Asset Management, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday, citing the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Washington’s threats to use military force in Greenland and Iran.

He said recent speculation about who will be nominated as the next Fed chairman has impacted metals markets.

Global investors await who will be nominated as the next chairman of the Fed after US President Donald Trump He said he would announce Jerome Powell’s successor on Friday. Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, who served at the central bank during the 2008 Financial Crisis, is currently the prediction markets’ favorite to secure the job.