Price pressure on gold, silver amid bearish outside markets
NEW YORK (February 5) Gold and silver prices are sharply lower in early U.S. trading Thursday, with silver leading to the downside. Weak long liquidation in the futures markets is featured today, as the shorter-term futures traders that became would-be bargain hunters and dip buyers earlier this week may now be getting their fingers burned late this week. A higher U.S. dollar index and lower crude oil prices today are bearish outside market elements for the precious metals. April gold was last down $69.40 at $4,880.80. March silver prices were down $8.411 at $75.90.
Gold and silver have become unstable again after posting solid recoveries earlier this week. Spot silver plunged as much as 17% overnight, having flickered briefly above $90 an ounce in early Asian trading, Bloomberg reported. After a record-breaking rally that appeared to run too far, too fast, the metal has retreated by more than a third from an all-time high hit on Jan. 29. The sudden and sharp decline in precious metals also weighed on sentiment in base metals markets, with copper falling more than 1% to slip below $13,000 a ton. Meanwhile, spot gold dropped as much as 3.5% in choppy trading.
The recent steep downdrafts in gold and silver prices put some downside pressure on many raw commodity futures markets, as well as denting risk appetite across the general marketplace.
U.S. dollar index hits two-week high. The U.S. dollar index overnight notched a two-week high and has made a strong recovery after hitting a four-year low in late January. The greenback has appreciated amid mostly upbeat U.S. economic data releases and following the announcement from President Trump that he has nominated Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair. Warsh has in the past leaned hawkish on U.S. monetary policy. Meantime, the European Central Bank is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged today, as policymakers weigh the impact of a stronger Euro currency. The ECB has held its monetary policy steady since last June. The Bank of England also holds its regular monetary policy meeting today and is also expected to keep rates steady.
Crude oil prices back off as U.S.-Iran talks to proceed. Crude oil futures prices fell overnight for the first time in three days after Iran confirmed it will hold negotiations with the U.S., easing the immediate risk of military strikes against the OPEC producer. Brent dropped toward $68 a barrel, after adding 4.8% over the previous two sessions, while West Texas Intermediate was near $64 a barrel. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed in a social media post that the negotiations will be held in Oman on Friday, clarifying the location of the encounter, Bloomberg said. “Differing positions over the parameters of U.S.-Iran negotiations mean it remains unclear whether the two sides can realistically bridge major differences at a time of heightened tensions in the region, which supplies about a third of the world’s crude. That has reinserted a risk premium into oil prices, which have rebounded this year after slumping in the second half of 2025 on signs of a growing global glut,” said the report.
The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index higher, with crude oil lower and trading around $64.25 a barrel. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is presently 4.27 percent.
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