Gold and Silver Diverge as Energy Costs Challenge Safe-Haven Appeal

Spot gold traded near $4,167.90 an ounce, failing to reclaim the $4,200 level as a technology-led equity selloff rattled Wall Street. The Nasdaq Composite bore the brunt of the pressure, sliding 2.1% as investors soured on AI-related assets and rising borrowing costs. Conversely, European markets proved resilient, with the Stoxx Europe 600 gaining 0.72% on the back of stronger-than-expected corporate earnings.

Energy markets are driving the current volatility. Brent crude settled at $109.86 a barrel, and WTI climbed above the $100 mark for the first time since September, fueled by intensifying attacks on commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. These price hikes are complicating the inflation narrative, even as markets bet there is an 83% probability the Federal Reserve will pause rate hikes at its October 27-28 meeting. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh offered no immediate signals for policy changes during the IMF annual meetings in Bangkok, leaving traders to weigh the prospect of December tightening against cooling economic data. Silver remains particularly vulnerable to this environment, caught between the support of lower Treasury yields and the drag of higher industrial energy costs.