Global Precious Metals Face Heavy Selling as COMEX Gold Drops Below $4,000

Precious metals dropped sharply in the international market during Thursday's early morning session. The COMEX gold price slipped below $4,000 per ounce, hitting an intraday low of $3,973.80. The COMEX silver price also fell to an intraday low of $51.160 per ounce, getting close to its 52-week low of $48.050. Domestic rates on the Multi Commodity Exchange followed these global trends by opening lower.

Market Impact

MCX gold is down by roughly ₹550 and trades near ₹1,39,000 per 10 grams. MCX silver is down by more than ₹1,700, trading below ₹1,83,000 per kilogram. Market experts state that stronger-than-expected US inflation data has caused renewed fear and boosted expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike during the December meeting. Giottus.com CEO Vikram Subburaj noted that inflation data has strengthened the US dollar and lowered the appeal of precious metals.

Expert Outlook

SEBI-registered market expert Anuj Gupta explained that long celebrations for Christmas and the new year following the December Fed meeting are causing traders to square off aggressive positions. Gupta expects gold and silver to remain sell-on-rise assets due to high bets for a 50 basis point rate hike. COMEX gold holds strong support at $3,800, with potential drops to the $3,400 to $3,350 range if that level breaks. For India, immediate support sits near ₹1,35,000 per 10 grams for gold and ₹1,75,000 and ₹1,68,000 per kilogram for silver.

Context

Precious metals like gold and silver often face downward price pressure when the US dollar strengthens and interest rates rise. Investors tend to move money toward yield-bearing assets rather than holding non-yielding commodities during periods of tighter monetary policy.