On Friday, gold and silver prices suffered their biggest slide in decades. Gold fell from $5,600 to $4,770, while silver dropped 31%.
Markets remain weak, with the CME announcing further margin increases following the moves. Overnight, gold plunged as much as 10% to around $4,400, while silver fell up to another 16%.
This selloff in precious metals triggered broader market pressure, with Asian stocks posting their worst two-day drop since early April. Tech-heavy indices such as South Korea’s Kospi fell 5.3%, Nasdaq 100 futures declined over 1.8%, and Bitcoin briefly dipped below $75,000.
Other commodities, including Brent crude (down up to 7.4%) and copper (down over 5%), also weakened amid cascading liquidations and forced margin-related closures.
The turmoil stems from profit-taking after an overheated rally fuelled by geopolitical fears, currency concerns, Chinese speculation, and heavy AI-related investments that drove equities to successive highs.
President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh — a former Fed governor with a history of criticising the central bank but who has recently aligned with calls for lower rates — as the next Federal Reserve Chair (to succeed Jerome Powell in May, pending Senate confirmation) has shifted market focus to uncertainty over monetary policy, the Fed’s massive balance sheet, and the prospect of “higher for longer” rates.
It is an active news week ahead, with monetary policy and rate statements from Australia and the UK, followed by Non-Farm Payrolls on Friday to close out the week.
