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Gold prices fell below $4,000 an ounce on Wednesday. Photo by GEORG HOCHMUTH / APA / AFP via Getty Images) / Austria
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Key Takeaways
- Spot gold prices fell below $4,000 on Wednesday, a level not touched since November; silver tumbled to under $60.
- Growing concerns that the Federal Reserve could raise benchmark rates this year likely triggered the slide.
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Gold has less glitter these days.
Precious metals prices have hit a new low for the year, with spot gold on Wednesday falling 3% to below $4,000 per ounce, a level it hasn't touched since November. Silver, meanwhile, declined more than 4% to under $60. This recent slide leaves gold down almost 30% from a January peak of around $5,600, while silver is down more than 50% from a high of roughly $122.
Gold and silver have been going nowhere for most of the year, with recent tumbles arriving after the Federal Reserve's first policy meeting under new Chair Kevin Warsh. Though the U.S. central bank left rates unchanged, investors have become increasingly concerned that it could raise rates; CME Group's FedWatch currently shows traders pricing in at least one hike by the end of the year.1
Why It Matters to You
Gold and silver were among the best-performing asset classes of last year. But both are underperforming equities year to date and have ticked down after trading sideways for most of the first half of 2026.
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Higher rates are generally seen as bad for gold prices, since they can make dividend-paying assets look more attractive, and they can also strengthen the dollar, which can make gold more expensive for international buyers.
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Stocks appear to have shrugged off interest-rate concerns, with both the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 recovering lost ground from earlier in the week. That hasn't been the case for gold.
"If precious metals traders are right about how aggressive the Fed will get to crush inflation, the stock market should be crashing," Peter Schiff, an economist who is often bullish on gold, said in a social media post Wednesday morning.2 "If stock traders are right that the Fed is more bark than bite when it comes to rate hikes, gold prices should be soaring."
Related Reading
Federal Funds Rate: What It Is, How It's Determined, and Why It's Important Understanding the Dynamics Behind Gold Prices
To be sure, gold hasn't behaved as expected—neither proving to be much of a hedge amid geopolitical tensions nor the risk asset it became when traders last year started buying up hard assets on concerns about currency debasement.
Perhaps investors have only themselves to blame. "The popularity of the debasement trade has been its own undoing," Robin Brooks, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said in a social media post today, adding that though the U.S.-Iran peace deal should've helped gold rally, it's now "getting crushed by the hawkish Fed and strong Dollar." 3
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CME Group. " FedWatch."
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