Precious Metals Crash: Gold sinks by Rs 5,500, silver by over Rs 17,200—Key things to know

Domestic precious metal rates retreated after hitting fresh peaks in a volatile session on Monday, mirroring global benchmarks as analysts suspected profit-taking amid a strengthening dollar that dents the appeal of investors holding other currencies.

MCX Gold and Silver Rates Today

On commodity derivatives exchange MCX, gold futures for February 5 delivery tumbled by as much as Rs 5,573 -- or 4.0 per cent -- to Rs 1,34,300 during the session, retreating by as much as Rs 6,165 from their all-time high of Rs 1,40,465 registered last week.

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The seesaw price action was more violent in silver, with the near-month contract -- with March 6 delivery -- plunging by Rs 17,285 -- or 7.2 per cent -- to Rs 2,22,502 at its intraday low. Monday's trade began with the contract scaling an all-time high of Rs 2,54,174 in early deals.

International precious metal prices

Globally, both precious metals suffered sharp losses, retreating significantly from their near one-way run this year. Gold slumped by as much as $230.6 or 5.1 per cent and silver by $8.6 or 10.9 per cent to $4,302 and $70.5 an ounce, respectively.

Until now, gold was on track to exit 2025 with a gain of about 65 per cent while took its YTD gain to 150 per cent -- its best yearly gain ever.

The white metal has been outperforming the entire precious metal basket owing to factors such as growing industrial demand and supply shortages.

Donald Trump remarks

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said that he and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were "getting a lot closer" to an agreement to end the war in Europe.

Analysts say that his peace talk remarks may have dented the appeal of precious metals as a safe haven.

Typically, financial and geopolitical uncertainty supports precious metal prices as investors flock to safer assets, away from equities, and vice versa.

The yellow metal is known to perform well during periods of uncertainty, also thriving in low interest rates as a non-yielding asset.

Currently, most central banks -- including the Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) -- are using suitable opportunities to reverse COVID-era tightening in their monetary policies.