Gold and silver sell-off accelerates as inflation fears grip global markets

Gold and silver joined a broad sell-off on Thursday, with the metals shedding around 5% and 10%, respectively, as fears about the Iran war and inflation gripped global markets.

At 8:43 a.m. ET, spot gold was down 4.9% at just over $4,600 an ounce. Front-month gold futures were down 5.8% at $4,612.

Mining stocks and exchange-traded funds linked to gold and silver also fell in premarket trading. The ProShares Ultra Silver ETF shed 20% ahead of Thursday’s opening bell, while the iShares Silver Trust ETF — which was at the center of a so-called meme trade earlier this year — was down almost 10%. Aberdeen’s Physical Silver Shares ETF was down 9.9%.

The biggest losses among individual mining stocks included Teck Resources, which was down 8.9%, while First Majestic Silver and Coeur Mining fell 10% and 9.9%, respectively.

The sell-off among miners was also seen in the European trading session, with the regional Stoxx Europe Basic Resources index trading 6% lower. Shares of Fresnillo, the world’s leading silver producer and a major gold producer, were down 9.3%, while mining giant Antofagasta was 8.2% lower.

The moves in gold and silver come amid broader risk-off sentiment, which has seen global equities and government bonds fall in tandem. European stocks moved sharply lower in early trade, while futures pricing also points to U.S. equity markets falling at the open.

Investors are monitoring the ongoing U.S.-Iran war as the conflict heads toward its third week. The war is fueling concerns about an energy shock that will add inflationary pressure to economies across the globe. Oil and gas prices spiked on Tuesday after energy facilities in Iran and Qatar were hit by strikes.

Central banks are also watching developments in the Middle East. The U.S. Federal Reserve held rates steady on Wednesday and cited “uncertain” impacts arising from the conflict. The Bank of Japan also kept interest rates steady, noting that inflation risks now are tilted to the upside due to the Iran war.

A series of central banks in Europe, including those of the U.K. and the euro zone, are due to update their respective monetary policies later Thursday.

Switzerland’s central bank also flagged the war in Iran as it announced its decision to hold its key policy rate at 0%. The Swiss National Bank said its willingness to intervene in the foreign exchange market was rising as the war dragged on.

Gold and silver both enjoyed record-smashing rallies in 2025, surging 66% and 135%, respectively, over the course of the year. However, they have seen much more volatile trade in 2026, with silver futures suffering their biggest single-day blow since the 1980s at the end of January.

Paul Surguy, managing director and head of investment management and proposition at Kingswood Group, told CNBC in an email on Tuesday that gold has been “the beneficiary of a fair tailwind for some time,” but that the broader backdrop may be encouraging investors to rethink their holdings of the metal.

“Global markets have seen broad selloffs as investors search for the quickest assets to sell, perhaps we are now seeing the next leg of this phase where the perceived safe haven assets are sold to fund purchases of those that may have overacted to the current situation,” he said.

“With airspace and shipping lanes also closed the transmission of gold will also now be more expensive, or even impossible — worth remembering that in buying the ultimate safe haven asset you are holding something physical — which needs to be in possession in order to truly offer that safety.”

Iain Barnes, CIO at British wealth management firm Netwealth, told CNBC that increased gold price volatility reflects the precious metal’s wider inclusion as a popular financial asset across investment portfolios.

“Financial, rather than fundamental investors are the marginal buyers of gold and we see them reducing risk across the board,” he said in an email. “This is especially true for fast-moving, leveraged funds which are faced with higher borrowing costs.”

In a Tuesday morning note, Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said the decline in gold prices suggested investors were either liquidating assets that had previously served them well, or were reacting to a further strengthening in the U.S. dollar.

“Gold often declines when the U.S. dollar appreciates as the metal becomes more expensive for buyers of other currencies,” he said.