Chandigarh, Jan 30: Gold and silver prices experienced a dramatic reversal on Thursday, crashing from recent record highs as a broader slump in U.S. technology and artificial intelligence stocks spooked global investors. The correction saw gold prices tumble nearly $500 per ounce to settle around the $5,100 mark, while silver witnessed a sharp plunge of approximately 12 percent. This sudden downturn followed a significant slide in Microsoft shares, sparked by investor anxiety over heavy AI expenditures and decelerating growth in the cloud sector.
The volatility in silver has been particularly pronounced, with the metal having recently reached a staggering Rs 4,20,000 in India and $121 per ounce on the international stage. Domestic prices showed extreme fluctuations, swinging between Rs 1,85,000 and Rs 165,000 within a single trading session. This correction follows a period of rapid appreciation where silver prices surged by nearly Rs 40,000 in just over a two-week window, a pace many analysts considered difficult to maintain.
“The rapid rise of silver—increasing by Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 in just fifteen days—created an unsustainable straight-line growth,” noted Pankaj Arora, National President of the All India Jewellers and Gourmet Federation. While global demand remains bolstered by China’s export restrictions and the U.S. classification of silver as a critical mineral, Arora said the “paper trade” on various exchanges is driving these erratic movements. He suggested that while the metal might eventually reach Rs 7 lakh in the coming years, interim drops to Rs 2.5 lakh are possible.
Financial experts believe the crash in precious metals is part of a larger pattern of instability across all investment sectors. Sunil Shah of Khambatta Securities said the movements in gold and silver are a symptom of extreme uncertainty across all global asset classes. He observed that money is currently moving erratically between metals, bonds, and equities because there is no clear consensus on the direction of the global economy.
“These kinds of moments are suggesting only one thing that there is a huge volatility in the global equity markets across the asset class,” Shah directly said. He noted that the market is currently defined by a lack of clarity, stating that when “markets are full of uncertainty, what is going to happen nobody has clue.” Despite the global turbulence, observers noted that Indian equity markets have shown relative resilience as the domestic financial community looks toward the upcoming Union Budget for stability.
