Editor’s Note
This article reports on a sudden, sharp decline in precious metals prices on February 12th, with silver falling over 10%. The sell-off is attributed to shifting market dynamics, including a drop in tech stocks and waning expectations for near-term interest rate cuts.
Precious metal prices plummeted suddenly late morning on February 12th (US time), with silver recording a drop of over 10%. Analysts attribute the sharp sell-off to a decline in technology stocks and a retreat in expectations for interest rate cuts.
Silver prices were at $75.88 as of 1:40 PM ET, a sharp decline from the day’s high of $84.88.
The silver sell-off began shortly after 11:00 AM ET, representing a drop of over 10% based on the intraday low of $74.58.
Gold prices also fell from highs above $5,100 to around $4,900, but had recovered slightly to approximately $4,955.00, down 2.8%, as of 1:40 PM ET.
Victoria Cusack, Senior Research Analyst at Suukden Financial, told Forbes that gold, silver, and copper all faced a sudden sell-off. However, she pointed out that this price plunge appears to be “flow-driven” rather than “fundamentals-driven.”
Earlier on the 12th, gold and silver prices had seen slight declines as strong US employment data fueled the view that the Federal Reserve would not cut rates in the near future. Fawad Razaqzada, Global Macro Analyst at FOREX.com, told The Wall Street Journal that US non-farm payrolls “significantly exceeded expectations,” and “the market reacted as expected,” citing the drop in precious metal prices as an example.