Gold falls to lowest level in a year and silver drops below $50 as tech shares slide; oil rises after Hormuz tanker attack

Gold fell to its lowest level in about a year on Friday 30 October. As of 17:41 GMT, gold futures were down 3.4% at $3,892.80 an ounce and silver futures were down about 6% at $49.25, according to Yahoo Finance data.

Earlier, spot gold fell 3.1% to $3,897.09 an ounce by 15:47 GMT, its lowest since October 2025, and silver dropped below $50 for the first time in 11 months, Reuters reported. Platinum and palladium also fell, with palladium dropping below $1,000 an ounce.

Reuters linked the fall to a slide in technology shares on concerns about returns from spending on artificial intelligence. Analysts at Commerzbank said the drop in tech stocks may have led to forced selling of safe-haven assets such as gold, and to margin calls, Reuters reported. Gold is down about 30% from its record high of $5,595 in January, according to Reuters.

BullionVault said spot gold was down 5.6% for the month of October as of Friday morning London time.

Oil moved the other way. As of 17:41 GMT, Brent crude futures were up 2.9% at $113.99 a barrel, and US crude was up 2.7% at $104.78 as of 17:04 GMT, Yahoo Finance data showed. CNBC reported that a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was hit on Friday by explosive devices attached by a small boat, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO), and that it was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. Brent was on course for a gain of nearly 14% in October, CNBC said.