Gold posts worst week since 2011 as silver tumbles 14%
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- Gold futures fell 0.7% to $4,574.90/oz on Friday, capping a 9.6% weekly plunge — the metal's biggest weekly loss since September 2011.
- Gold is now on track for its worst month since October 2008, though it remains up more than 5% in 2026 after surging 66% in 2025.
- Silver futures tumbled more than 2% to $69.66, their lowest close since December, marking a third straight losing week with a 14%+ decline that pushed silver down more than 1% year-to-date.
- Oil prices topped $112 on Friday, with oil-market volatility driving global investor sentiment since the beginning of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
- U.S. stocks also tumbled Friday, dragging the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite near a 10% decline from recent highs — a correction — as President Trump said he didn't want a ceasefire with Iran.
- Arthur Parish of SP Angel attributed the selloff to unwinding momentum trades and retail 'tourists' exiting after the Feb. 28 U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, noting their departure is 'probably what's needed for gold to then take another leg higher.'
- Toni Meadows of BRI Wealth Management cautioned against treating gold as a daily hedge to risk-asset moves, saying prices depend on longer-term trends and a 'fear mark-up' rather than short-term fear trading.
Why it matters: Gold's worst week since 2011 and silver's third straight weekly loss reflect a sharp unwind of the speculative positions that piled in during the 2025 rally, as oil topping $112 and a looming U.S. stock correction reshape risk appetite. Parish's view — that the exit of momentum and retail 'tourists' may be what gold needs to set up its next rally — gives long-term bulls a reason to watch central-bank accumulation, which he credits with driving the first leg of the multi-year bull run.
