Gold and silver prices tumbled from historic peaks, with silver plunging nearly 12% and gold dropping by $500. The crash is linked to a slump in U.S. tech stocks, particularly Microsoft, amid concerns over massive AI spending and slowing cloud growth.
The global precious metals market faced a massive reversal on Thursday as both gold and silver prices tumbled from historic peaks. Silver, which recently touched a record high of Rs 4,20,000 in India and 121 dollars per ounce internationally, saw a sharp correction that wiped out significant gains in a matter of hours. This "safe haven" crash saw gold prices drop by nearly 500 dollars per ounce to 5,100 dollars, while silver plunged by nearly 12 per cent.
Tech Slump Triggers Precious Metals Crash
The sudden downturn was fuelled by a broader slump in U.S. technology and AI stocks, headlined by a significant crash in Microsoft shares following concerns over massive AI spending and slowing cloud growth.
Experts Weigh In on Market Volatility and Uncertainty
Pankaj Arora, National President of the All India Jewellers and Gourmet Federation, noted that the rapid rise of silver--increasing by Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 in just fifteen days--created an unsustainable straight-line growth. He pointed out that while global demand remains high due to the U.S. classifying silver as a critical mineral and China restricting exports, the "paper trade" on exchanges is causing wild swings. Arora highlighted that Indian prices fluctuated from Rs 1,85,000 down to Rs 165,000 in a single day, urging investors to remain patient as the metal could potentially hit Rs 7 lakh over the next few years but might drop to Rs 2.5 lakh in the interim.
Sunil Shah, of Khambatta Securities, reinforced that the movements in gold and silver are a symptom of extreme uncertainty across all global asset classes. He observed that when there is no clarity on the direction of the global economy, money often moves erratically between precious metals, bonds, and equity markets. Shah noted that while Indian equity markets have seen some correction, they remain resilient as investors look towards the upcoming Union Budget for a clearer sense of direction.
"These kinds of moments are suggesting only one thing that there is a huge volatility in the global equity markets across the asset class, I would say precious metal equity market dead market. Now when does it happen generally it happens when there is no clarity there is the markets are full of uncertainty what is going to happen nobody has clue," added Shah. (ANI)
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