Gold and silver prices eked out gains during Asian trading on Friday, drawing in bargain hunters after a week marked by sharp volatility and heavy selling across precious metals.
Silver continued to lag the sector and remained on track for a weekly loss of around 14%, having largely undone a recent rebound. Gold fared somewhat better by comparison, though it was still trading roughly $800 an ounce below the record highs reached last week.
Reduced demand for safe-haven assets also weighed on the metals, as signs of easing tensions between Iran and the United States emerged ahead of scheduled talks in Oman later in the day.
Gold steadies after near one-month low, still headed for mild weekly drop
Spot gold slipped 0.9% to $4,825.31 per ounce by 22:56 ET (03:56 GMT), while April gold futures declined 1% to $4,842.44 per ounce.
On the week, spot gold was down about 0.9%, after failing to hold above the $5,000 per ounce mark. Even so, prices remained well above a near one-month low hit earlier in the week.
“The selloff in the gold market was a little bit more contained due to greater liquidity and less aggressive positioning by investors,” ANZ analysts wrote in a note.
Silver struggles as rebound fades, deep weekly loss looms
Spot silver climbed 2.8% to $72.9655 per ounce, while silver futures fell 5.1% to $72.760 per ounce.
Silver prices had plunged by as much as 16% on Thursday before recovering part of those losses later in the session. Despite the bounce, the metal was still down roughly 14% for the week, following an almost 18% drop from record highs seen last week.
“We continue to reiterate that 70–90 region now represents a critical stabilisation zone; sustained failure to hold above this area may risk deeper correction towards USD 58/60 levels,” OCBC analysts said in a note.
“But should prices hold up in this range, then bullish momentum may rebuild at some point later.”
Other precious metals remained under pressure. Spot platinum fell 1.8% to $1,953.17 per ounce and was down nearly 10% for the week, following a steep 22% decline last week.
The broader metals selloff has extended since last week, initially triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair.
Warsh is widely seen as less dovish, helping fuel a rebound in the U.S. dollar that has weighed on metal prices. The dollar was heading for its strongest weekly performance since early October, with weaker labor market data doing little to slow its advance.