Gold and Silver Prices Plunge as Tech Selloff and Oil Surge Weigh on Markets

Precious metals suffered a sharp reversal on the evening of October 30, with gold and silver both tumbling amid a broader wave of selling across overseas markets.

Spot gold dropped more than 2%, officially breaking below the $4,000 per ounce threshold, while spot silver plunged roughly 5% during intraday trading.

Analysts pointed out that rising oil prices are intensifying inflationary pressures, while a steep decline in technology stocks is raising the risk that investors will sell gold to cover losses in other assets.

The selloff in tech shares continued unabated. At the same time, concerns that the United States may once again take military action against Iran pushed Brent crude to its highest level since April. The inflationary pressure from higher oil prices is forcing investors to recalibrate their expectations for interest rate movements.

Technology stocks led global equity declines for a second consecutive day. A fresh round of disappointing earnings accelerated the retreat from artificial intelligence-themed trades. Last week's AI-driven stock market rout had already dragged gold prices to their lowest level since July.

Ole Sloth Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said traders are closely watching whether the equity selloff will carry over into today's Wall Street session, as that could trigger broader deleveraging across global markets and liquidity-driven selling.

Silver has now erased all of its gains since early December. At that time, silver embarked on a fierce two-month rally that ultimately peaked above $120 per ounce.

Hansen said that although silver has already entered oversold territory, technically oriented funds could still further unwind long positions, leading to momentum-driven selling. He added that this could open the door to further declines in silver prices, potentially toward the mid-$40s per ounce range.

Meanwhile, the gold-to-silver ratio has risen to its highest level since last December. This means that purchasing the same amount of gold now requires more ounces of silver.

Hansen said the widening gold-to-silver ratio highlights that silver remains more vulnerable relative to gold. By contrast, gold is still able to attract demand from investors who are less sensitive to interest rate changes.