– The gold market has taken a big hit heading into the weekend, with prices breaking convincingly below $4,000 an ounce and falling to their lowest levels in more than a year.Gold’s sharp selloff Friday pushed prices to their lowest level since October 6, 2025, when the precious metal touched an intraday low of $3,884.61 an ounce. The latest decline comes as investors brace for another potentially volatile week, with U.S. employment data and the midterm elections expected to provide fresh uncertainty for financial markets.

According to analysts and traders, there is significant frustration in the marketplace as gold faces substantial selling pressure even as the U.S. dollar and bond yields weaken. (Kitco Global Index shows how much of today’s gold move is the dollar versus the gold market itself.) Traditionally, these two factors should be bullish for the precious metal, as they reduce its opportunity costs.Spot gold last traded at $3,880 an ounce, down 3.5% on the day; prices are down nearly 3% on the week. Silver is experiencing an even bigger drop, with prices falling below $50 an ounce. Spot silver last traded at $48.95 an ounce, down nearly 6% on the day. Silver prices are down nearly 9% since last Friday, marking their worst weekly decline since early June.Analysts have said that gold has been unable to find any bullish traction, even with lower bond yields, because of broader concerns in the marketplace.

Although the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged following its monetary policy meeting Wednesday, the central bank remains committed to bringing inflation down. Looking beyond this week’s pause, markets still expect the Fed to raise interest rates in December and through the first quarter of 2027.Philip Streible, Chief Market Strategist at Blue Line Futures, said that gold will continue to struggle as the ongoing war with Iran keeps oil prices elevated.