Gold prices fell, Friday, with oil prices rising and the release of data showing accelerating inflation in the United States, which strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) would raise interest rates again later this year.
Gold in spot transactions fell by 0.5 percent to $4,000.54 per ounce by 05:11 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery fell by 0.5 percent to $4,010.10. The precious metal is heading towards recording a decline for the second month in a row.
Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said that the decline in gold raises serious questions about the technical support levels around $4,000 per ounce, noting that purchases at low prices previously limited losses, but the extent to which investors searching for buying opportunities are able to support prices is still unclear.
He added that the US economic data released this week included sufficient indicators to support the possibility of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in December, explaining that the rise in oil prices to their current levels increases pressure on gold from an inflation perspective.
Inflation accelerated in the United States during September, with an increase in what consumers paid for gasoline and other goods, which strengthened economists’ expectations of raising interest rates in December.
High interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding gold, which does not generate a return, making it less attractive to investors.
According to the CME Group's Fed Watch tool, markets are pricing in a probability of about 75 percent to raise interest rates in December.
In energy markets, oil prices rose on Friday, heading towards achieving gains for the fourth month in a row, after an attack targeting a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz highlighted the supply risks associated with the US-Israeli war on Iran.
In Japan, data released on Friday showed that annual core inflation in the capital, Tokyo, significantly exceeded the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent target during October, reflecting escalating price pressures.
As for other precious metals, silver fell in spot transactions by 1.6 percent to $51.53 per ounce, platinum fell by 1.9 percent to $1,459.75, while palladium fell by 1.4 percent to $992.37. The three metals are heading towards recording weekly and monthly losses.
The performance of Asian stocks was mixed on Friday, amid growing concerns about the future of artificial intelligence, after a decline in Alphabet shares led to pressure on US markets.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index fell by 2.3 percent during afternoon trading, reaching 63,155.94 points. At the conclusion of a two-day meeting, the Bank of Japan decided to keep the key interest rate unchanged at 1.25 percent, in a move that was widely expected, after the central bank raised interest rates last month, according to the Associated Press.
The United States is pressuring Japan to raise interest rates, amid concerns about the weakness of the yen. In the currency market, the US dollar rose slightly to 157.67 yen, compared to 157.65 yen. The euro also rose to $1.1186, compared to $1.1181.
In Australia, the Standard & Poor's - ASX 200 index rose 0.2 percent to 8,908.10 points. On the other hand, the South Korean KOSPI index fell by about 4 percent to 5,701.71 points, with shares of SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics declining.
Shares related to artificial intelligence witnessed notable fluctuations, as the growing interest in this technology led to a rise in the shares of several companies, including chip manufacturers, before they declined due to concerns related to factors including supplies.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose by 1.7 percent to 23,359.06 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4 percent to 3,636.60 points.
On Wall Street, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell by 0.3 percent, recording its first loss in four days, despite the rise of the majority of stocks listed on it and in the American markets in general. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell by 1.4 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 132 points, or 0.3 percent.
The stock of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, was one of the most prominent factors pressuring the market, given its great weight on Wall Street as one of the largest listed companies. The company's Class A shares fell by 12.6 percent, recording its worst daily performance since it began trading more than 20 years ago.
At the end of Thursday's trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost about 23.59 points, closing at 7,720.39 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 132.54 points to 52,342.56 points, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell by 365.13 points to 26,184.72 points.
In the bond market, the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds fell to 4.94 percent, compared to 5.05 percent at the end of Wednesday’s trading. The yield continues to decline in general since it exceeded 5.30 percent earlier this month, when it recorded its highest level since 2002.
In energy markets, US crude futures rose by 1.15 percent to $103.17 per barrel, while Brent crude, the global standard, rose by 1.05 percent to $116.09 per barrel.
Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, said that a security breach caused losses estimated at $6.3 billion, which analysts described as possibly the largest theft of cryptocurrencies ever and may prompt investors to reconsider the risks of owning digital assets.
Binance stated that it cooperated with its partners to freeze the affected assets by locating about three billion dollars so far. It did not provide updates on the status of the remaining amount of $3.3 billion, and Ye He, one of the platform’s co-founders, said that the company would bear “all losses from the hack.” Binance indicated that preliminary investigations indicate that the hack may have begun by infiltrating a laptop belonging to one of its engineers, which allowed the attacker to access one of the company's systems and make unauthorized withdrawals.
Markets reacted quickly at the beginning of Asian trading on Friday. The price of “Bitcoin” fell by more than three percent to its lowest level in six weeks at $76,368, and the price of “Ether” also fell by more than three percent to reach its lowest level in two months at $2,178. The price of the BNP currency, which was launched by Binance and can be used to pay platform fees, fell by five percent during the past 24 hours to $709.70, according to the CoinGecko website, which specializes in collecting market data.
This incident may be the largest cryptocurrency theft in the world, according to the analytics company Chainalysis and other experts in the field. Analysts said that this breach, along with the potential loss of assets, is likely to have greater repercussions for cryptocurrencies, which are already under pressure recently due to high US interest rates and declining demand from buyers of exchange-traded funds.
The platform's annual report for 2025 stated that it includes 335 million registered users worldwide and the value of its deposited assets amounted to about $162.8 billion. It allows users to buy, sell and trade digital assets.
Binance said in a statement, “User funds remain safe... As a precaution, all deposits and withdrawals have been temporarily suspended while security teams conduct checks, secure the wallet infrastructure, and track affected assets, with close support from our law enforcement and industry partners.”
