Gold falls 3.5% to $3,880.97; silver breaks below $50 for first time in 11 months
Key Facts
Spot gold fell 3.5% to $3,880.97 an ounce on October 30, its lowest level since October 2025, according to Reuters in a report at 2:13 p.m. Eastern Time. Silver fell 6.5% to $49 an ounce, breaking below $50 for the first time in 11 months. The decline came as technology stocks fell and concerns about inflation and energy added to pressure on precious metals. In EL7 closing data, gold was at $3,875.645 and silver at $49.2 an ounce, compared with $4,020.565 and $52.002 the previous day. Reuters' figures show price movements during the session, while EL7 data represent daily closing prices.
The daily decline accompanied broader losses for gold during the month; the metal was down 5.9% in October through the time of Reuters' report, putting it on track for a second consecutive monthly decline. Gold was also down 30% from its record peak of $5,595 an ounce in January, according to the report. It attributed the sustained pressure to bets that interest rates would remain high for longer, alongside weak demand in Asia. Physical gold buying in major Asian markets remained weak during the week. Buyers in India postponed purchases as they waited for further price declines, while demand remained limited in China, the world's largest gold consumer.
Inflation concerns helped keep interest rate expectations as a headwind for metals. Peter Grant of Zaner Metals said inflation concerns had pushed several central banks toward a more hawkish stance, adding that "the higher-for-longer interest rate message is still prevailing, and that is weighing on precious metals." Reuters noted that Thursday's data showed U.S. inflation accelerated in September, with consumers paying more for gasoline and other goods, reinforcing economists' expectations of a rate increase in December. But growth data alone do not establish that interest rate expectations resulted from the GDP report, while quarterly price data showed a slowdown in both personal consumption expenditures measures in the third quarter compared with the second.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.4% in the third quarter, after growing 2.2% in the second quarter. EL7 data had recorded a forecast of 3.2%, making the published reading higher than that forecast. The bureau attributed the acceleration to increases in investment, consumer spending and government spending, partly offset by a decline in exports, while imports rose. Real final sales to private domestic purchasers, which combine consumer spending and private fixed investment, rose 4.9% in the third quarter, compared with 4.6% in the second quarter. These components provide a picture of the sources of growth, alongside declines in quarterly personal consumption expenditures inflation measures.
Technology stocks' decline added to the metals sell-off, as investors worried that technology companies' spending on artificial intelligence might not generate sufficient returns. In Friday's session, the Nasdaq 100 fell 3.5% and neared a correction, defined as a 10% drop from a recent peak, according to Reuters. John Higgins of Capital Economics said the reliance of part of the major cloud computing companies' capital spending boom on external financing had made investors more concerned about the scale of investment and how it was financed. Commerzbank analysts said the technology stock decline may have triggered forced selling of safe-haven assets such as gold, as well as margin calls. They said they viewed the precious metals sell-off as excessive and continued to expect a recovery.
Silver also faces demand-related pressure, with HSBC saying industrial and jewelry demand are declining. The bank expects silver to average $64 an ounce in 2027, down from its forecast average of $71 for this year. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis is scheduled to publish its second estimate of third-quarter GDP and corporate profits on November 25, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. That reading will follow the advance estimate, which showed annualized growth of 3.4% in the third quarter. In the October 30 session, EL7 data showed gold closing at $3,875.645 and silver at $49.2 an ounce.