Robin Kolvenbach, CEO of Argor-Heraeus, holds one-kilo silver and gold bars at the factory of refiner and bullion manufacturer Argor-Heraeus in Mendrisio, Switzerland, July 13, 2022.
Denis Balibouse | Reuters
Gold and silver prices plunged Friday as President Donald TrumpIt is appointment The choice of the next Federal Reserve chairman, Kevin Warsh, appeared to ease concerns about the central bank’s independence.
At 7:12 a.m. ET, silver stain was down 10.6% to around $103.81 an ounce, paring earlier losses. By the early hours of the morning, the metal had fallen 16% and fallen below the $100 mark.
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Spotted silver
In the meantime, spot the gold lost about 5.7% to trade at $5,136.27 an ounce. Previously, the safe-haven metal had lost as much as 7%.
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Spot gold
Precious metal prices also weakened on futures exchanges, with front-month gold contracts losing 3.4% in New York, while silver futures for February delivery were down 10%.
The selloff has gripped the broader precious metals market, with platinum spot down more than 10%, while palladium fell almost 8%.
On Friday, Trump nominated Warsh – who worked at the central bank during the 2008 financial crisis – to succeed the current Fed chairman. Jerome Powell.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett has been the favorite to replace Powell for some time, but Warsh has emerged as the frontrunner in predictive markets in recent days.
In a note released Friday morning, Evercore ISI’s Krishna Guha said the market was “trading hawkishly.”
“The choice of Warsh should help stabilize the dollar somewhat and reduce (but not eliminate) the asymmetric risk of prolonged deep dollar weakness by challenging depreciation trades – which also explains why gold and silver are in sharp declines,” the company’s vice president said.
“But we advise against overdoing Warsh’s hawkish trading in asset markets – and even see a risk of whiplash. We view Warsh as a pragmatist, not an ideological hawk in the tradition of the independent conservative central banker.”
Claudio Wewel, FX strategist at J. Safra Sarasin Sustainable Asset Management, told CNBC “Squawk Europe Box” On Friday, a “perfect storm” of geopolitical tensions had contributed to the rise in precious metals this year, highlighting the United States’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Washington’s threats to use military force in Greenland and Iran.
More recently, he said, speculation about who the next Fed chair will be has influenced metals markets.
“The market has clearly priced in the risk of a much more dovish competitor, which has greatly helped the price of gold as well as other precious metals. In the last 24 hours, the news flow has changed a bit,” Wewel said, ahead of Trump’s announcement.
“Even good assets can be sold”Gold and silver both saw record rebounds in 2025, rising 65% and 150%, respectively, over the course of the year. These gains have largely continued into 2026, with silver up 45% while gold is up 19% year to date.
On stock markets around the world, the impact of the metals sale was visible on Friday. In Europe, the regional Stoxx 600 Basic Resources index – which includes the continent’s most valuable mining companies – was down 2% in afternoon trading.
Listed in London Fresnillothe world’s largest silver producer, last posted a 4% decline, paring earlier losses.
In pre-market on Wall Street, silver miner Endeavor Silver was down 9%, while Heart Mining lost 8%. Silver ETFs were drawn into the action, with the ProShares Ultra Silver the fund last saw a drop of more than 22% before the opening bell. THE iShares Money Trust The ETF lost 11.2%.
Precious metals have seen a dramatic rise over the past 12 months, amid broader market volatility, decline of the US dollar, bubbling geopolitical tensions and concerns on the independence of the Federal Reserve.
Katy Stoves, an investment manager at British wealth management firm Mattioli Woods, told CNBC on Friday morning that the moves were likely “a reassessment of market-wide concentration risk.”
“Just as tech stocks – particularly those related to AI – have dominated market attention and capital flows, gold has also seen intense positioning and crowding,” she said. “When everyone leans in the same direction, even good assets can be sold off as positions are unwound. The parallel is not accidental: both represent areas into which capital has flowed based on powerful narratives, and concentrated positions eventually face their day of reckoning.”
For her part, Toni Meadows, head of investments at BRI Wealth Management, said gold’s rise to the $5,000 mark happened “too easily.” He noted that the greenback’s depreciation had supported gold prices, but the dollar appeared to be stabilizing.
“Central bank purchases have fueled the long-term recovery, but this trend has slowed in recent months,” he said. “The case for greater reserve diversification is still there, as Trump’s trade policies and intervention in foreign affairs will make many countries nervous about holding U.S. assets, especially countries in emerging markets or aligned with China or Russia. Silver will follow the direction of gold, so it is not surprising to see declines there.”
