Gold rate and silver prices are under pressure after explosive rallies witnessed over the last few months. After touching an all-time high of $5,602, gold closed at $4,895, down by 10%. Silver closed at $84, shedding 27% in a single day trade.
MCX trades are open on Sunday, February 1. MCX Gold futures for 02APR2026 contracts are trading at Rs 138702, down 9%, while Silver futures for 05MAR2026 contracts trade at Rs 265652, also down by 9%.
On Sunday, MCX has not updated the spot prices in the initial hours of the trading session. In the Indian market, Gold rates in the MCX spot market declined by Rs 10,842, closing at Rs 1,64,389 per ten grams of 24 carat gold, a decrease of 6.2% during Friday’s session. Silver rate today in India is Rs 3,33,292 per Kg, a decrease of Rs 46,691 or 12.2%.
Gold and Silver ETFs listed on Indian stock exchanges fell up to 14%. Prices of most gold and silver ETFs are down between 7% and 14% on Sunday.
CME Margins
CME Group has raised margins on Comex gold and silver futures, starting February 2. Gold margins will increase to 8% of the underlying contract’s value from 6% currently for non-heightened risk profiles, according to a statement released by the exchange on Friday. Margins for heightened risk profiles will be increased from 6.6% to 8.8%, according to the statement.
According to the announcement, silver margins will increase to 15% from 11% for non-heightened risk profiles and to 16.5% for heightened risk profiles from 12.1% now.
Why Prices are Crashing
Experts are talking about different reasons for the crash in gold and silver prices. Geopolitical tensions, trade wars, and central banks’ increasing preference for gold, alongside the process of de-dollarization and concerns regarding the Federal Reserve’s independence, have contributed to a sustained momentum for precious metals.
Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh for the Federal Reserve chair is expected by many experts to strengthen the dollar, which is considered a contributing factor to the decline in gold and silver prices.
While Warsh’s nomination might have acted as a trigger, a correction in gold and silver prices was deemed overdue.