Gold, silver rebound sharply after heavy sell-off

Gold was on track for its biggest intraday rise since 2008, while silver also recovered strongly. Analysts said the underlying fundamentals remain robust, and investors were ready to step in and buy the dip.

Reuters reported that gold and silver rallied rapidly on Tuesday (February 3, 2026, US time), or overnight in Thailand, after plunging over the previous two sessions. The metals were poised to notch their biggest one-day gains since November 2008, as bargain-hunters bought into what they saw as a fundamentally strong market.

Spot gold jumped 5.2% to $4,906.82 an ounce at 1.31pm US Eastern time (18:31 GMT), rebounding from Monday’s low of $4,403.24. However, it was still trading below last week’s record high of $5,594.82.

US gold futures for April delivery surged 6.1% to $4,935 an ounce.

Silver rose 4.8% to $83.23 an ounce on Tuesday, after a record 27% plunge on Friday and a further 6% fall on Monday.

“I view the recent drop as a correction within a longer-term uptrend,” said Peter Grant, vice-president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals. He added that many of the fundamentals that have driven gold higher in recent years remain in place.

“At this point, we may see a corrective phase, with key support around $4,400 on the downside, and resistance likely around $5,100 on the upside,” Grant said.

Precious metals tumbled sharply over the past two sessions after Kevin Warsh was picked to be the next chair of the US Federal Reserve, succeeding Jerome Powell, who is due to step down in May. Investors expected Warsh to support interest-rate cuts, while tightening the Fed’s balance sheet more aggressively. In addition, derivatives-market operator CME Group raised margin requirements for precious-metals futures, adding further downside pressure.

Bull market expected to continue

Despite the recent volatility, most analysts expect the bull market to persist, with the yellow metal likely to set new highs later this year.

“We expect prices to rise again over the long term at a more sustainable pace, as investors remain deeply concerned about economic and political conditions,” said Jeffrey Christian, managing partner at CPM Group.

Gold is widely seen as a safe-haven asset and typically performs well in low interest-rate environments.

Meanwhile, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Monday that the key January employment report would not be released this Friday due to a partial federal government shutdown.

Among other precious metals, spot platinum rose 3.4% to $2,194.05 an ounce, while palladium gained 0.4% to $1,727.03.

Morning price update (February 4, 2026)

Bloomberg reported that gold was little changed at $4,944.66 an ounce at 7.49am Singapore time (one hour ahead of Thailand). Silver edged down 0.8% to $84.48. Platinum rose, while palladium slipped. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady after falling 0.3% in the previous session.

Gold held steady after part of its rebound, as dip-buyers returned following a sharp pullback from record highs.

Gold was trading near $4,950 an ounce in early Asian trade, after rising more than 6% in the previous session. Improved risk sentiment and a weaker US dollar helped support prices. As of Tuesday’s close, gold was about 12% below its all-time high set on January 29, but still up nearly 15% so far this year. Silver was also broadly steady.

“Forced selling likely has ended in precious metals,” said Daniel Ghali, senior commodity strategist at TD Securities, in a note. “The extreme volatility over the past week may have pushed retail traders to the sidelines, removing an increasingly important source of buying,” he added.

Precious metals surged last month on speculative flows, geopolitical volatility, and concerns over the independence of the Federal Reserve. But the rally abruptly stalled late last week, when silver recorded its biggest one-day drop on record and gold suffered its steepest fall since 2013. The moves followed warnings from several market analysts that the rally had become too far, too fast.

Funds from China and retail investors in the West bought substantial amounts of precious metals. Additional momentum came from investor inflows into leveraged ETF products and heavy call-option buying. The sharp fall during Asian trading on Friday continued into the start of this week.

Bank of America expects volatility in precious metals to remain elevated. Niklas Westermark, BofA’s head of commodities trading for EMEA, said gold has stronger long-term investment appeal than silver. He noted that even if stretched prices and market volatility affect position sizing, they are unlikely to reduce overall investor interest.

Several banks remain supportive of a recovery in gold prices. Deutsche Bank AG said on Monday that it reaffirmed its forecast for gold to climb to $6,000 an ounce.