Overview
- Spot gold slid roughly 5%–6.8% to near $4,080–$4,140 after touching an all-time high around $4,381, while silver fell 6%–9% to below $50.
- Analysts cited stretched technicals, a stronger dollar, easing US–China trade tensions and heavy profit-taking as key drivers of the pullback.
- Follow-through weakness carried into Oct. 22 with gold hovering near $4,090, as the lack of CFTC positioning data during the US shutdown left markets more exposed to positioning shocks.
- Brokers tightened risk controls and raised maintenance margins on gold, though firms reported generally adequate liquidity even as spreads and swap rates widened during stress.
- Wall Street houses kept medium-term bullish views, highlighting sustained ETF inflows and central-bank buying, with investors now watching the delayed US CPI on Friday and next week’s Fed decision.