Gold Plunge 12%, Silver 21% After Making Historic Monthly Gains
Silver has seen an even steeper correction, falling nearly 21 per cent to trade close to $98 per ounce from $125 on Thursday, underscoring heightened volatility after an unprecedented upside move: Reports
CHENNAI: Gold prices plummeted 11.8 per cent in the international market and silver fell 21 per cent as the US dollar gained on reports about a new US Federal Reserve chief. The metals, which were in an overbought territory, were due for corrections. Gold and silver ETFs saw a sharper fall compared to the commodities.
After delivering one of the strongest rallies in modern commodity history, precious metals have entered a sharp corrective phase. Gold prices, which recently touched an all-time high near $5,600 per ounce, have corrected sharply to $4,995 on Friday, marking an 11.8 per cent decline from recent highs.
Silver has seen an even steeper correction, falling nearly 21 per cent to trade close to $98 per ounce from $125 on Thursday, underscoring heightened volatility after an unprecedented upside move.
In the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold prices fell 14.73 per cent from Rs 1,80,779 per 10 gm on Thursday to a low of Rs 1,54,157, but made some recovery later in the day. Similarly, silver prices plunged 20.96 per cent from Rs 4,20,048 per kg to Rs 3,32,002 per kg.
In the Delhi spot market, gold fell to Rs 1,62,000 per 10 gm against Rs 1,83,000 on Thursday. Silver retreated from Rs 4.05 lakh per kg to Rs 3.60 lakh on Thursday.
However, January 2026 stands out as a historic month. On Thursday, gold had surged nearly 28 per cent, marking only the second such monthly gain in the last 100 years, the previous instance being January 1980. Silver rallied nearly 70 per cent, the strongest monthly performance in its recorded history. Such extraordinary gains, however, often attract speculative excess—making corrections not just possible, but inevitable, finds Kedia Commodities.
US President Donald Trump’s reported plan to nominate Kevin Warsh as Fed chair boosted the dollar. Warsh, an inflation hawk, has recently supported lower interest rates. Gold and silver had already been in an overbought territory and wanted and the higher margins had made a correction due.
Gold and silver ETFs too saw a heavy fall following the commodity crash. SilverBees ETF was down 18.59 per cent, SBIsilver 20.5 per cent, Axisilver 20.16 per cent. GoldBees ETF was down 10.52 per cent and AxisGold was down 12.53 per cent.
“Corrections after such historic rallies are inevitable, but they do not invalidate the long-term bullish structure of precious metals. Importantly, the structural pillars supporting gold remain firmly intact. The prudent strategy is not to exit precious metals, but to rebalance exposure. After a once-in-a-generation silver rally, investors should either book profits or rotate holdings from silver into gold,” said Ajay Kedia, MD, Kedia Commodities.