Plunge in price of gold and silver rattles global stock markets

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 3 min read 100% complete by Lauren AlmeidaFebruary 2, 2026 at 11:38 AM

AI Summary

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Gold and silver prices experienced a significant plunge, triggering a ripple effect across global stock markets. The price of gold fell by 8% and silver by 7% after hitting record highs in recent weeks. The sell-off was triggered by Donald Trump's announcement of Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, as his nominee to chair the Federal Reserve, signaling a potential shift away from rate cuts. This development led investors to reduce their safe-haven positions in precious metals. The price drops extended to industrial metals like platinum and copper, and impacted stock futures in the US, the FTSE 100 in the UK, and the pan-European STOXX 600 index. Bitcoin and oil prices also declined, while the US dollar rose.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Wealth Club 30% Deutsche Bank 30% Pepperstone 30% Michael Brown 40% Susannah Streeter 40% S&P 500 40% Nasdaq 40% FTSE 100 40% Jerome Powell 50% Federal Reserve ×370% Donald Trump ×280% Kevin Warsh ×490%

Keywords

gold prices 100% silver prices 90% stock markets 80% market sell-off 70% safe haven assets 70% geopolitical tensions 60% federal reserve 60% kevin warsh 50% industrial metals 40% bitcoin 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

Source Transparency

Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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gold prices silver prices stock markets market sell-off safe haven assets geopolitical tensions federal reserve kevin warsh industrial metals bitcoin

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