Gold fell to its lowest level in a year on Friday 30 October, closing below $3,900 an ounce for the first time since October 2025. Reports of the session differ slightly on the exact close, putting spot gold at approximately $3,875 to $3,881 an ounce, down roughly 3.5 per cent on the day, after touching an intraday low near $3,870. Silver also broke below $50 an ounce, underlining how broad the sell-off across precious metals had become by the end of the week.

Rate expectations drove the fall

The main pressure came from United States interest-rate expectations. The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.75 to 4 per cent on 28 October, but September inflation data and hawkish comments from two Fed officials kept a December rate increase firmly in play, with traders pricing in roughly a three-in-four chance of a rise. Higher rates raise the cost of holding gold, which pays no interest, and that has weighed on the metal through a bruising end to October after a run of four closes above $4,000 came to an end.

What traders watch next

The metal now heads into a week dominated by United States politics and data, with midterm elections on 3 November and the October jobs report due on 6 November. A stronger-than-expected payrolls number would support the case for a December rise and could push gold lower still, while a weak report could ease those odds and give the metal room to recover. For now, the break below $3,900 marks a clear change of mood from the highs seen earlier in October, when gold traded above $4,000 and some forecasts still pointed higher into the year end.