Man, what a day in the metals market. I’ve been trading gold and gold stocks for over 10 years now , and days like this still get my heart racing. Gold and silver just got absolutely hammered, dropping to levels we haven’t seen in three weeks. As I’m writing this around lunchtime, December gold is down a whopping $65, trading at $2,685, while silver’s taken an even bigger hit percentage-wise, falling $1.32 to $31.43.
Let me tell you what’s really going on here. Everyone (myself included) was betting on election chaos – disputed results, protests in the streets, the whole nine yards. Instead, Trump won decisively, and the streets are quiet. All those traders who loaded up on gold as a safety play? They’re rushing for the exits.
But that’s just part of the story. The dollar’s on an absolute tear today, hitting levels we haven’t seen since July. Treasury yields are surging too – the 10-year’s sitting around 4.4%. I just read an interesting piece in Barron’s suggesting Trump’s win could actually push inflation higher, mainly because of his stance on trade tariffs. That could force the Fed to get more aggressive with rates, which isn’t great news for gold.
Speaking of market moves, the stock market’s loving this outcome. The S&P 500 just hit another record high. That’s pulling money away from gold – why hold the metal when stocks are soaring, right? And here’s another twist: Bitcoin’s gone absolutely nuts, jumping $5,000 to a new record. Remember, Trump’s been pretty vocal about supporting Bitcoin, and crypto enthusiasts are clearly celebrating.
Almost forgotten in all this excitement is the Fed meeting that started this morning. Powell and company wrap up tomorrow afternoon, and most of us are expecting a quarter-point rate cut. But honestly, that’s playing second fiddle to the election news right now.
Oil’s holding up pretty well through all this, trading around $72.50. That’s actually a bit supportive for gold, but clearly not enough to offset all the other bearish factors hitting the market today.
I’ve got to say, this is one of those days that reminds you how quickly markets can turn. Just yesterday, everyone was positioning for chaos and uncertainty. Today, we’re seeing a complete repositioning across markets. Gold traders who were betting on post-election turmoil are getting caught on the wrong side of this move.
The big question now is whether this is just a knee-jerk reaction or the start of a bigger trend. With Trump’s pro-growth, potentially inflationary policies back on the table, we could see some interesting cross-currents in the precious metals markets. The inflation angle typically supports gold, but if it leads to more aggressive Fed tightening, that could be a headwind.
For now, I’m watching the precious metals market very closely. The next few days should tell us whether this is just a healthy correction in an uptrend or something more serious. Either way, it’s another reminder that in these markets, you’ve got to stay nimble and be ready for anything.
Acknowledgment: This article was written with the help of AI, and inspired by, while including information from, "Gold, silver hammered by surging USDX, bond yields" published on Kitco.com. For more detailed insights, you can read the full article here.