Bullion stumbled on Dhanteras morning. COMEX gold futures dropped $37.50, or 0.91%, to $4,076 per ounce in early Asian trade on Friday, snapping a sharp mid-week rebound as an equity rout swept across global exchanges. COMEX silver followed suit, sliding 1.11% to $51.795 per ounce after touching an intraday low of $51.260. The drop broke immediate momentum built just 24 hours earlier, when international spot bullion crossed $4,125 an ounce.
A brutal technology sell-off triggered the reversal. Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq plunged 5.5% while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index collapsed 12.2%—marking the steepest single-day drop since the tariff-driven shock of April 2025. Panic quickly spilled into Asia. South Korea’s KOSPI skidded over 8%, forcing an emergency trading halt via circuit breaker, while Tokyo’s Nikkei shed 6%. Cracks in market confidence widened over runaway artificial intelligence capital spending, mounting regulatory pressure, and uncertain returns on mega-scale data centers. Yet bullion failed to capture typical haven inflows as sovereign bond yields held firm, with the US 10-year Treasury anchored near 4.84%.
| Contract / Asset | Current Price | Session Change | Day's Range / Low | Peak Level (Jan 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COMEX Gold (Dec) | $4,076.00 / oz | -0.91% (-$37.50) | $4,065.30 – $4,116.20 | $4,125.25 (Thurs High) |
| COMEX Silver | $51.795 / oz | -1.11% (-$0.581) | $51.260 (Intraday Low) | $52.73 (Thurs High) |
| Delhi Gold (99.9%) | ₹1,48,000 / 10g | +₹2,200 (Thurs) | ₹1.48 Lakh | ₹1,83,000 / 10g |
| Delhi Silver | ₹1,94,000 / kg | +₹1,500 (Thurs) | ₹1.94 Lakh | ₹4,04,000 / kg |
Higher interest rates choke non-yielding bullion. Fresh US macroeconomic releases signaled stubborn labor strength, displaying the fastest wage acceleration recorded since March 2024. That resilience has fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve could lift benchmark rates in December rather than ease policy. "Strong economic data and wage acceleration could keep the Fed hawkish," said Prithviraj Kothari, President of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association and Managing Director of RiddiSiddhi Bullions Ltd. Kothari noted that while currency fluctuations had briefly lifted bullion earlier in the week, rate hike fears have seized control of the trade. Even so, he projects gold could test $4,200 an ounce—roughly ₹1.50 lakh per 10 grams locally—while silver could aim for $55 an ounce.
Vikram Kasat, Chief Business Officer of Advisory and Dealing at PL Capital, warned that upcoming US non-farm payroll figures will dictate whether the current equity turbulence morphs into prolonged liquidity tightening across asset classes.
Domestic retail counters tell a diverging story. In New Delhi, 99.9% purity gold traded at ₹1.48 lakh per 10 grams inclusive of taxes on Thursday after gaining ₹2,200, according to price quotes from the All India Sarafa Association. Silver closed at ₹1.94 lakh per kilogram. While prices sit well below the January 29 peaks—gold has dropped 19% from ₹1.83 lakh, and silver has halved from ₹4.04 lakh—they remain substantially higher than Dhanteras 2025, when gold stood at ₹1.32 lakh and silver at ₹1.70 lakh.
High ticket costs are reshaping showroom traffic. Retailers project value sales to jump 20% to 30% this festival season, but physical tonnage will likely stagnate. World Gold Council data shows domestic jewellery demand dropped 20% by volume during the July-September quarter even as value spend rose 16%. Consumers are adapting fast—trading in family heirlooms, selecting featherweight designs, and pivoting toward pearls, gemstones, and silver giftware to preserve festival customs without breaking household budgets.