Overview
- Spot gold slid 6.3% on Oct. 21 to about $4,082 and silver fell 8.7%, then gold eased a further 0.3% early Oct. 22 to $4,113 after Monday’s all‑time high near $4,381, while December futures edged up 0.5%.
- The pullback reflects a stronger dollar, better tone in US–China trade prospects, overbought technicals, the end of India’s seasonal buying, and limited CFTC positioning visibility during the US government shutdown.
- Volatility remains elevated, with options linked to the largest gold‑backed ETF setting back‑to‑back volume records above two million contracts last week, underscoring heavy hedging.
- The 2025 surge has reshaped emerging‑market fortunes, lifting gold producers—South African miners have rallied and Ghana won a Moody’s upgrade—while import‑dependent economies face inflation and balance‑of‑payments pressure.
- Emerging‑market central banks have expanded gold reserves roughly 161% since 2006 to about 10,300 tonnes as part of a partial shift away from the dollar, and traders now look to the delayed US CPI report due Friday.