The Friday move was one for the ages and even then, it still hasn’t put a bad mark to gold and silver’s performance to start the year. Even with the drop on Friday and the one today, gold is up some 8% so far in 2026 and silver up a little more closer to 9%. Sure, the numbers pale in comparison when you pit them against the surging runs in 2024 and 2025 especially. But on any other given year, these kind of numbers are more than solid.
That speaks to the kind of environment we’re trading in over the past two years, which is quite something in the precious metals space. It wasn’t just three years ago that we could still see silver print $20 on the charts. Yet, here we are talking about a $40 correction in just two days like it isn’t that big of a deal. Wild stuff.
As we look to the new week, gold and silver will remain in the spotlight. That as traders and investors weigh up their positions and what to make of the sharp pullback/correction. The main question at this point is where do dip buyers step in?
The latest dip today brings gold closer towards $4,600 and that seems to be where buyers are drawing the line for now. Meanwhile for silver, that is closer towards the $75 mark as seen on the charts.
Now, these are just easy and round figures to point at. But in truth, it would be a fool’s errand to be picking bottoms in this kind of market and especially with such volatility.
I said it already when both gold and silver dipped to around $5,000 and $100 respectively last week, before the heavier and harder-hitting selling came about afterwards. And so, the same applies to the current predicament and price action as well.
The selling will stop when it stops, so it’s best not to rush in head first in thinking that you can time this kind of market. In situations like these, I’d much rather be a little late in the dip buying and miss out on the extra 5% to 10% gains than risk a potential 10% to 20% further wipe out in equity.
And in any case, the big picture story dictates that this will be a healthy pullback/correction for both precious metals.
The sharp drop we’re seeing in the past two days doesn’t change the fact that the fundamental factors driving up precious metals have gone away. They never left and are still very much at play, so that will keep the market landscape supportive of gold and silver in the medium-term.
But for now though, it’s best to let the correction run its course and that is where we are to start February trading.
From a seasonal perspective, silver hasn’t quite enjoyed February as much in recent years. So, just be mindful of that as that could lead to some added pressure in the opening week(s). Likewise for gold, as the precious metal hasn’t been able to follow up with gains in February after January in recent years with the only exception being in 2025.
Just some food for thought as we get into the new month.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.