Precious metals markets demonstrated resilience Monday following extreme price swings that had unsettled financial centers globally. Gold bounced back from an 8% drop to $4,465 per ounce, recovering to $4,700 despite remaining down 3.5%. Recent sessions had witnessed the precious metal trading near $5,600.
The silver market exhibited similar recovery, climbing from a 7% decline following Friday’s extraordinary 30% plunge to stabilize at $79.60 per ounce. The metals’ stabilization contributed to Britain’s flagship stock index celebrating a landmark achievement, crossing the 10,300 threshold for the first time and settling at 10,341 after hitting 10,345 during the session.
Both metals had been setting consecutive records as market participants sought refuge from escalating global conflicts and worries about Federal Reserve political autonomy. The shift began Friday when authorities revealed Kevin Warsh as its choice for Fed chair, a respected former governor with strong credentials. Following Senate confirmation, Warsh will replace the current chairman when his term expires in May.
Trading analysts interpret the decline as market confidence that partisan considerations won’t dominate monetary policy decisions. Wealth Club’s Susannah Streeter noted that Warsh’s substantial Federal Reserve background indicates he won’t yield to pressure, prompting widespread unwinding of protective positions. The volatility extended beyond precious metals to industrial commodities including platinum and copper.
Additional market movements included bitcoin’s 1.8% advance though still trading below $80,000, far from its peak of $125,000 last year, and crude oil declining 4% to approximately $65.24 per barrel. Market observers explained the selloff cleared overcrowded speculative positions, while both precious metals preserve impressive year-over-year gains of 65% for gold and more than 120% for silver, with continued optimistic forecasts from analysts.
2