Global gold drops 3% to over one-year low on November 12
Oil gains and a dollar near a 19-month high weighed on bullion as traders priced an 87% chance of a quarter-point US rate rise in December.
- On November 12, gold prices fell by approximately 3% to their lowest level in over a year, with spot gold dropping to US$3,880.93 an ounce.
- The decline was driven by expectations that US interest rates would remain high, fueled by rising oil prices, a strong US dollar, and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials.
- Diminishing hopes for a peace deal in the Middle East and the triggering of stop-loss orders on recent bullish positions also contributed to the sell-off.
Gold fell 3% in global trading on Thursday (November 12, 2026), reaching its lowest level in more than a year as rising oil prices revived inflation concerns. Bullion recorded a third consecutive session of losses as diminishing hopes for Middle East peace reinforced expectations that US interest rates would remain high.
Spot gold was down 2.7% at US$3,880.93 an ounce at the reported time of 1.53pm US Eastern time on November 12. US gold futures for December delivery settled 2.9% lower at US$3,885.30 an ounce.
A Reuters chart using LSEG data recorded a session low of US$3,852.14 as of 11.45am US Eastern time on November 12, the lowest level since October 3, 2025.
Silver and platinum also touch November lows
Silver and platinum joined gold’s retreat on November 12, reaching their lowest levels in several sessions, while palladium reversed direction after a recent high.
- Spot silver fell 3% to US$50.12 an ounce on November 12, after touching its lowest level since November 4 earlier in the session.
- Spot platinum declined 1.2% to US$1,518.49 an ounce on November 12, having reached its lowest level since November 6.
- Spot palladium dropped 3.1% to US$995.91 an ounce on November 12, after reaching its highest level since October 22 on November 11.
Oil gains strengthen expectations of higher US rates
Oil prices rose as US President Donald Trump’s dismissal of the need for an agreement with Iran reduced optimism about ending the Middle East conflict. “We don’t need a deal with Iran,” Trump wrote on social media.
Traders assigned an 87% probability to a 25-basis-point US Federal Reserve rate increase in December, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, while the likelihood of a larger 50-basis-point increase also rose. Higher interest rates reduce the attraction of gold because bullion pays no interest.
“Higher energy prices continue to warrant a hawkish Fed, and a hawkish Fed is an environment of higher interest rates and hence a headwind for the yellow metal,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
Jim Wyckoff, a market analyst at American Gold Exchange, pointed to the stronger-than-expected US inflation reading released on November 10, hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials during the week and the dollar’s rally towards a 19-month high. Those factors “are working to press the gold market lower”, Wyckoff said.
Stop-loss orders add to gold selling
The November 12 decline triggered stop-loss orders on bullish gold positions accumulated over the previous two weeks, according to independent metals trader Tai Wong. Those positions had been established as bullion recovered from an earlier sell-off in technology shares linked to concerns about artificial intelligence spending.
The departure of Jensen Huang as Nvidia chief executive also raised concerns about the artificial intelligence company’s future, with potentially far-reaching implications for US chip export policy.
Investors are awaiting US producer price index data due on Friday (November 13).
