Precious metals markets demonstrated resilience Monday as gold and silver fought back from one of their steepest declines in recent memory. Gold rebounded from an 8% plunge that had driven it to $4,465 per ounce, recovering to $4,700 though still down 3.5%. The precious metal had been trading near $5,600 just days earlier.
The silver market followed a similar recovery pattern, advancing from a 7% decline after Friday’s shocking 30% collapse to reach $79.60 per ounce. These movements occurred as Britain’s blue-chip stock index celebrated a landmark achievement, surpassing 10,300 for the first time and closing at 10,341 points with an intraday peak of 10,345.
Recent trading sessions had seen both metals climbing relentlessly as investors sought safe havens from mounting global tensions and concerns about Federal Reserve autonomy from political pressure. The turnaround commenced Friday when authorities announced Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor with distinguished credentials, as the nominee for chairman. If confirmed, Warsh will replace the current leader when his term expires in May.
Financial experts explain the reversal as market approval of maintaining central bank independence from political considerations. Susannah Streeter from Wealth Club highlighted that Warsh’s extensive Federal Reserve experience suggests resistance to external influence, prompting the major shift away from defensive investments. The turbulence also affected industrial metals like platinum and copper, which declined alongside precious metals.
Energy and cryptocurrency markets reflected changing investor sentiment, with bitcoin recovering modestly to trade below $80,000 while oil prices dropped 4% to $65.24 per barrel. Despite recent volatility removing speculative positions, both gold and silver maintain substantial year-over-year gains of 65% and over 120% respectively, with analysts at Deutsche Bank still forecasting gold to reach $6,000 this year.