The Fed’s concerns trigger the biggest Indian gold and silver crash since 1980

The sell-off mirrored the 1980 ‘Silver Thursday’ collapse, when investors booked profits amid shifting global macroeconomic signals.

Gold fell by 9 percent and silver by more than 26 percent on the global market after US President Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Kevin Warsh as the next chief of the US Federal Reserve. Warsh is seen as an aggressive policymaker who is likely to prioritize inflation control and maintain tighter monetary conditions.

The decision spooked the precious metals market abroad and in India, where gold fell 17.5 per cent, or ₹3,266 per gram, on MCX, and silver fell 27 per cent, or ₹1.08 lakh per kg.

Remembrance of Silver Thursday

Gold, which rose to $5,608 an ounce earlier this week, fell to $4,887 at the end of trading on Friday. On COMEX, April gold futures ended at $4,763. On MCX, April gold futures closed at ₹1,53,119 per 10 gram, compared to ₹1,85,779 on Thursday.

Silver, which peaked at $122 an ounce earlier this week, fell to $84.63 an ounce. Silver March futures closed even lower at $78.32 an ounce. On MCX, March silver futures closed at ₹2,91,925 per kg, compared to ₹3,99,893 on Thursday.

The global decline in gold and silver was reminiscent of Silver Thursday on March 27, 1980, when silver plummeted after rising to $50.35 an ounce. Gold had also peaked at $850 per ounce. Then the white precious metal lost 50 percent in four days as COMEX restricted purchases of the commodity. The Indian commodity market only took off after 2002.

The spot market rates in Mumbai are not published on Saturdays and Sundays.

WGC ETFs data

Traders said Warsh’s appointment raised hopes for higher interest rates to lift U.S. bond yields and strengthen the dollar. A strong dollar and higher bond yields are more attractive to investors compared to gold and silver. This led to many investors who had invested in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) making gains.

Data from the World Gold Council shows that assets under ETF management increased 260 percent between January 1, 2024 and January 1, 2026, from $214.5 billion to $558 billion. Last year, investments totaled $88.56 billion, while investors paid out $14 billion in 2023.

The rally in gold and silver over the past two years led speculators to bet on the precious metal complex. Despite the Black Friday for the precious metals complex, gold is still up 13 percent this year, and silver is up 18.5 percent. The rise in platinum, which lost almost 19 percent to $2,121 an ounce, was reduced to 2.5 percent this year. At $1,703, Palladium lost 15 percent on Friday, but is still up more than 3 percent so far in 2026.

The precious metals complex had gained ground as a result of geopolitical crises, with unrest in Iran amplifying the latest wave, as well as the trade war between the US and other countries. The geopolitical crises continue, but the appointment of the US Fed Chief and hopes for a rise in the dollar have changed the scenario, traders said.

Published on January 31, 2026