Precious metals tumbled Friday as a sharp decline in technology stocks provoked broad financial liquidation, pulling gold down through key support thresholds and sending silver below $50 an ounce.
Spot gold sank $141.60, or 3.52 percent, to settle near $3,879.90 an ounce in late U.S. trading, Kitco reported. The decline extended an ongoing retreat from the metal’s earlier record peak above $5,400 set at the start of 2026. Spot silver absorbed even deeper losses, dropping $3.15, or 6.06 percent, to around $49.015 an ounce, according to Kitco data.
Equities slide prompts forced selling
The precious metals selloff unfolded alongside heavy losses on Wall Street. Technology shares slid following disappointing corporate results, led by a drop of nearly 29 percent in Intel after downbeat profit guidance and heightened scrutiny over Amazon’s capital expenditure plans, Kitco reported. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.9 percent to finish near 25,437, while the S&P 500 fell 1.8 percent to 7,580.07, marking its steepest single-day loss since June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1 percent.
Selling spread quickly across asset classes as institutional desks sold liquid holdings to raise cash and cover margin pressures, analysts noted. Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite shed more than two percent amid pressure on mining and commodity equities.
The rush to liquidate overwhelmed traditional safe-haven dynamics. U.S. government debt gained as investors moved into sovereign paper, sending the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield down toward 4.93 percent and the two-year yield near 4.58 percent, Kitco reported. Yet bullion continued its downward trajectory rather than tracking bond prices higher, signaling that portfolio rebalancing dominated trading.
Energy tensions and monetary policy
The decline in metals also coincided with heightened geopolitical danger and rising energy prices. Commercial shipping suffered another disruption in the Middle East on Friday when a small boat attached explosive devices to a commercial tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations and reporting from Yahoo Finance. The identity of the attackers was not immediately clear.
The incident fueled concerns over Gulf energy supplies, sending crude prices sharply higher. December Brent crude futures gained 2.4 percent to finish at $117.64 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.08 percent to $104.12, Kitco reported. For the full month of October, Brent advanced about 13.6 percent, while WTI rose 15.2 percent.
Rather than providing an immediate lift to gold, surging fuel costs fueled market expectations that inflation will remain stubborn and keep borrowing costs elevated. The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate at 3.75 percent to 4.00 percent on Wednesday, though two officials favored an immediate quarter-point increase, Kitco reported. Data released Thursday showed third-quarter gross domestic product expanded at an annualized rate of 3.4 percent, while September core personal consumption expenditures inflation registered at 3.1 percent.
Silver faced supplementary pressure from deteriorating sentiment around global manufacturing. Friday economic data showed the Chicago purchasing managers’ index dropping to 55.3 in October from 58.8 in September. Because silver is widely utilized in industrial applications alongside its role as a monetary asset, softening manufacturing sentiment widened the gold-to-silver price ratio.
What to watch next
Traders enter the coming week watching whether gold can defend technical support in the $3,780 to $3,800 range, while silver faces support near $47 to $48 an ounce. Further market volatility could hinge on Middle East diplomatic efforts, oil market stability and geopolitical outcomes surrounding the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections, as well as upcoming signals ahead of the Fed’s December policy meeting.
