Precious Metals Review

“Gold recovered from a more than three-month low on Friday, but was ‌headed for a second straight weekly decline as elevated energy prices fuelled inflation concerns and reinforced higher-for-longer rate expectations ahead of next week’s US Federal Reserve meeting.

Spot gold edged 0.2% higher to $4,030.67 an ounce by 9:18 a.m. EDT (1318 GMT), after ​earlier slipping below the $4,000 mark for the first time since mid-July to a session ​low of $3,986.50. Bullion has lost 3.2% so far this week.

Gold recovered from a more than three-month low on Friday, but was ‌headed for a second straight weekly decline as elevated energy prices fuelled inflation concerns and reinforced higher-for-longer rate expectations ahead of next week’s US Federal Reserve meeting.

Spot gold edged 0.2% higher to $4,030.67 an ounce by 9:18 a.m. EDT (1318 GMT), after ​earlier slipping below the $4,000 mark for the first time since mid-July to a session ​low of $3,986.50. Bullion has lost 3.2% so far this week.

US gold futures for ⁠December delivery fell 0.3% to $4,046.40 per ounce.

Brent crude touched a more than five-month high, after Houthi ​attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked concern over further disruption to energy supplies.

“Heightened inflation concerns suggest that ​major central banks of the world won’t be able to ease monetary policies as quickly as they want to. All that’s working against the gold and silver market bulls at present,” said Jim Wyckoff, a market analyst at ​American Gold Exchange.

Additionally, “the selloff in the stock market technology sector has prompted margin calls for those ​stock traders and investors, which is in turn prompting them to sell gold and silver assets,” Wyckoff added.

Wall Street’s ‌main ⁠indexes opened lower as caution prevailed after a sharp selloff in AI-linked stocks.

Meanwhile, traders largely expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged at its October 27-28 meeting, although stronger-than-expected US consumer and producer inflation data released last week bolstered the case for tighter monetary policy later this year.

They see a 92% ​chance of the Fed leaving rates ​unchanged next week and an 83% ⁠probability of a December hike, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool. FEDWATCH

The US Personal Consumption Expenditures report, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, on October 29 could offer further ​insight.

Elsewhere, gold buying picked up in India this week as lower prices ​during the major ⁠Dussehra festival boosted purchases and lifted premiums, while physical demand in top consumer China was steady even as cautious consumers continued to curb jewellery spending.

Among other metals, spot silver slid 1.3% to $53.81 per ounce, ⁠and palladium ​dropped 0.4% to $1,050.50, hitting their lowest since November 2025 and ​June 2025 respectively. Spot platinum fell 0.9% to $1,557.03 per ounce, its lowest since July.

All three metals were headed for weekly ​declines.”

“Gold fluctuated near $4,000 an ounce after touching a three-month low, capping a volatile week that saw oil surge, stocks plunge and investors seek safety in US bonds.

Bullion dipped below $3,990 an ounce, the lowest since mid-July, before paring some losses for a weekly drop of more than 3%. Brent crude extended its rally to touch the highest since early May, while stocks wavered following a deep selloff as investors rotated out of artificial intelligence-related companies and sought safety in US bonds.

Gold has likely faced a “liquidity-driven selloff,” said Justin Lin, an analyst at Global X ETFs. This “tends to happen in sharp market downturns, as it’s a great source of liquidity to fund margin calls, capital requirements,” he said, adding the precious metal was close to testing a critical level of $3,900 an ounce.

Traders have lowered their bets on another interest rate increase, with swaps implying less than a 10% chance of a quarter-point hike at the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week.

Still, higher oil prices have added to pressure on central banks globally to tighten monetary policy. Intensifying attacks on Saudi Arabia raised the risk of wider Middle East supply disruptions and drove Brent crude above $114 a barrel.

“We remain cautious in the near term, particularly as gold has struggled to respond positively to the recent decline in yields,” said Christopher Wong, an analyst at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. “The latest selloff suggests that broader risk reduction and lingering inflation concerns may be outweighing the relief from lower yields.”

One part of the market where gold’s weakness has not shown up is exchange-traded fund holdings. Metal has flowed into gold ETFs tracked by Bloomberg for each of the last 14 weeks, marking a stark contrast to the price performance.

“Longer-term investors continue to accumulate gold through ETFs as protection against fiscal instability, geopolitical risks and currency debasement,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S, wrote in a note. “Short-term macro-focused traders remain sensitive to interest-rate expectations, currency movements and technical signals.”

Spot gold was steady at $4,024.44 an ounce as of 11:18 a.m. in London, while silver fell 1.2% to $53.92 an ounce. Platinum and palladium traded in a narrow range. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the US currency, was flat.”