Overview
- Spot gold and silver set fresh records on January 14, with gold near $4,642 per ounce and silver breaching $90 and spiking as high as the low $90s intraday.
- Prices retreated on January 15 as gold slipped roughly 0.7%–0.8% toward $4,585 and silver fell 5%–7% toward the high $80s after the U.S. held off broad critical-minerals tariffs and the White House struck a calmer tone on Iran and the Federal Reserve chair.
- Domestic markets reflected the surge, with India’s silver hitting Rs 2.86–2.89 lakh per kg and gold reaching about Rs 1.46–1.473 lakh per 10g, while Pakistan’s gold rose to a record Rs 486,162 per tola.
- The rally’s backdrop includes unrest in Iran, questions about Fed independence following Justice Department subpoenas linked to Jerome Powell, softer U.S. inflation that reinforced rate-cut bets, and structural silver demand alongside Chinese export curbs.
- Volatility remains elevated as exchanges tightened precious-metals margins, silver and gold ETFs and miners rallied, and analysts cautioned on overheating with comparisons to 1980, leaving direction sensitive to upcoming U.S. data and policy signals.