Overview
- Gold plunged from its January record near $5,600 to about $4,000 per ounce after a rapid unwind of last year’s speculative rally.
- The metal posted its weakest quarter since 2013 with a roughly 16% drop in Q2 and volatility that reached CBOE levels last seen in the 2007–08 crisis.
- Traders pointed to firmer Fed policy under chair Kevin Warsh, a stronger dollar and higher real yields as the main forces making yield‑bearing assets more attractive than non‑yielding gold.
- Speculative liquidations, net outflows from gold ETFs and investor rotation into tech and IPOs, together with Chinese limits on private gold trading and Iran/Strait of Hormuz tensions, amplified the selling pressure.
- Prices have staged short recoveries to about $4,080 after recent Fed comments and weak US jobs data, but analysts say elevated volatility and the path of US rates will determine whether a lasting bottom forms.