Overview
- Spot gold fell as much as 6.3% to $4,082 after Monday’s record near $4,381, while silver slid up to 8.7% to $47.89 in the steepest declines since 2013 and early 2021, respectively.
- Easing US–China trade tensions, a stronger dollar and stretched technicals were cited by analysts as key drivers of the reversal, with the US government shutdown delaying CFTC positioning data and the CPI release.
- Silver’s pullback outpaced gold after a recent London market squeeze and large vault outflows, including the biggest one‑day draw from Shanghai Futures Exchange‑linked vaults since February.
- Investor activity remained elevated with record options volume tied to the largest gold ETF last week, cycle‑high ETF holdings reported earlier in October and brokers tightening risk controls such as higher maintenance margins.
- Despite the sell‑off, prices remain significantly higher year to date, miners retreated sharply, and several banks maintained bullish medium‑term targets for gold, while local markets such as Pakistan marked immediate price cuts.