With input from Bloomberg, CNN, Reuters, and Axios.
Gold and silver just hit the brakes — hard. Futures for both precious metals tumbled Tuesday after a blistering run to all-time highs, with gold logging its worst single-day drop in more than 12 years.
By the numbers
- Gold futures: -5%+ on the day (biggest one-day fall since June 2013).
- Silver futures: -6%+.
- Year to date (pre-drop): both were up about 60%.
What’s behind it? A classic reality check. After weeks of hot buying, prices looked stretched versus fundamentals. As the selloff gathered speed, the US dollar and bitcoin caught a bid; miners and metals-linked ETFs slumped while the broader stock market mostly shrugged.
“I’ve been bullish on gold for years. But what I’m seeing now keeps me up at night,” wrote Joe Tigay of the Rational Equity Armor Fund, pointing to crowds lining up to buy gold in Australia — his red flag for froth. “When the narrative becomes one-sided… that’s your signal.”
Wednesday brought a small bounce — gold up roughly 0.3% — but the big question is whether Tuesday was a shakeout or the start of something deeper. Saxo Bank’s Ole Hansen argued the metal could weather a ~10% pullback without breaking its broader bull story.
After a parabolic climb, precious metals finally met gravity. Watch positioning, the dollar, and upcoming inflation data to see if buyers step back in — or if the air keeps thinning.
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