Gold Plummeted 27% & Silver Prices Halved: Is a Larger Precious Metal Crisis Brewing? - 36Kr

AI desk brief

Gold has fallen about 27% from its January 2026 peak to roughly $4,112/oz by mid-October, while silver has dropped more than 50% to around $56/oz, but the article argues the physical market has not healed. It cites World Gold Council data showing Q2 2026 central bank gold purchases of 288.9 tonnes, a record for the period and up 62% YoY, even as prices fell, and says this bid is structurally absorbing floating London inventory.

For silver, the excerpt points to a 2026 global supply deficit of 46.3 million ounces, widening from 40.3 million ounces in 2025 and marking a sixth straight year of shortfalls. It frames January’s move to $121.62/oz as a short squeeze driven by a spike in lease rates, an inverted forward curve, and a widened EFP spread between London OTC and New York futures, then argues the subsequent decline was mainly paper selling rather than a repair in physical supply-demand balances. The piece also notes PV-related silver consumption fell 6% in 2025 and is expected to drop another 19% in 2026 to about 151 million ounces.