Precious metals witnessed a sharp selloff on Friday as investors rushed to book profits, triggering steep losses in gold and silver ETFs. The correction followed easing concerns over a potential confrontation between US President Donald Trump and the US Federal Reserve, after Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair.

Gold and silver, which had rallied strongly in recent months amid fears around Fed independence, saw heavy unwinding. Silver prices plunged over 18 per cent, while gold declined more than 10 per cent at one stage. As a result, gold ETFs fell 9–13 per cent and silver ETFs dropped sharply by 18–23 per cent.

At around 19:30 IST, spot gold slipped to $5,008 an ounce, while COMEX April futures fell to $5,027.81. In India, gold ended at ₹1,65,795 per 10 grams in the Mumbai spot market, down from ₹1,75,340, while MCX April futures declined over 8 per cent to ₹1,68,938.

Silver was the worst hit, slipping below $100 an ounce to $98.93. In domestic markets, silver plunged to ₹3,39,350 per kg from ₹3,85,933, with MCX March contracts quoted at ₹3,37,945.

Leading gold ETFs from Nippon India, HDFC AMC, and DSP Mutual Fund declined 10–13 per cent, while silver ETFs from Nippon India, Aditya Birla Sun Life, and ICICI Prudential fell 18–20 per cent.

Despite the correction, experts remain constructive. Prithviraj Kothari of RiddiSiddhi Bullions noted that gold is still up about 25 per cent and silver nearly 45 per cent year-to-date. Analysts attributed the selloff to a stronger dollar, elevated speculative positions, and profit-booking after record highs.

Platinum group metals also declined, with platinum falling over 12 per cent to $2,288 and palladium slipping nearly 10 per cent to $1,827.50 an ounce.