Gold slips below US$4,000 on Friday to cap a steep weekly loss as oil surge fuels Fed hike bets — Precious Metals Daily Update, October 24, 2026

Precious metals closed a difficult week on the defensive, and Saturday trading screens still reflect Friday's close. Gold held around US$4,012.28 / C$5,618.41 per ounce on the Gold Stock Corp live ticker, down 0.70 percent in US dollars and down 0.69 percent in Canadian dollars on the session. Silver held around US$53.92 / C$75.43 per ounce, down 1.26 percent in US dollars and down 1.35 percent in Canadian dollars, while platinum held around US$1,554.25 / C$2,179.06 per ounce, down 0.99 percent in US dollars and down 0.81 percent in Canadian dollars. Gold slipped below the US$4,000 level on Friday for the first time since mid-July, touching a three-month low near US$3,986.50 before recovering part of the drop into the close, and it finished the week down roughly 3.5 to 4 percent, its steepest weekly loss since June and its second consecutive weekly decline. Silver's weekly fall was steeper, at close to 8 percent. The driver remains energy-led inflation, not a loss of interest in physical metal. Brent crude settled near US$116.72 a barrel on Friday, its highest settlement since late April, after attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and renewed shipping tensions around Hormuz kept supply fears elevated. Strong US business activity, the fastest selling-price inflation since August 2022 in the flash PMIs, and a University of Michigan reading showing inflation expectations at their highest since May all reinforced the same chain: higher oil lifts inflation risk, inflation risk keeps real interest rates higher for longer, and higher real rates reduce the relative appeal of holding non-yielding bullion. Traders now price roughly a 78 percent probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike in December, even as they expect a hold at next week's meeting, and selling in technology shares added margin-call liquidation across precious metals late in the week. External checks corroborated the site ticker's direction and scale, with Reuters reporting Friday spot gold at US$4,030.67 earlier in the session, silver near US$53.81, and platinum near US$1,557.03, and late US reports putting spot gold near US$3,995.81 at the close. For investors: The US$4,000 level in gold is now the line that matters. A recovery and hold above it early next week would suggest Friday's break was a stop-driven flush after a steep weekly loss, while another close below it would keep momentum pointed lower heading into the central bank decisions. Canadian-dollar investors should watch the loonie as closely as spot, because oil strength can support the Canadian dollar while it pressures US dollar metals, which means the C$ entry point can improve or worsen independently of the US dollar chart. With the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve both deciding on Wednesday, October 28, position sizing ahead of those releases remains the key call, and staggered buying around confirmed levels is more disciplined than chasing a weekend headline. For jewelers: The weekly correction has eased Canadian-dollar fabrication costs compared with a week ago, with gold near C$5,618.41, silver near C$75.43, and platinum near C$2,179.06 per ounce. That creates a practical restocking and scrap-pricing window, but it is a volatile one: quotes can reset quickly when trading reopens and around the October 28 decisions and the October 29 US data. Confirming metal pricing early in the week, keeping trade and scrap buying aligned to live spot, and telling customers clearly that prices are set at the time of transaction helps protect margins while buyers react to lower prices after recent highs. Coming up — events that will move metals this week: Tuesday, October 27, 8:30 AM ET — US durable goods orders for September (consensus rebound of about 0.6 percent), followed at 10:00 AM ET by Conference Board consumer confidence for October (prior 81.9): firm data supports higher-for-longer rate expectations and pressures metals, while a soft confidence print can weigh on the US dollar and steady bullion heading into the Federal Reserve meeting. Wednesday, October 28, 9:45 AM ET — Bank of Canada rate decision and Monetary Policy Report (prior 2.25 percent; markets have priced a high chance of a 25 basis point hike to 2.50 percent, though several analysts still expect a hold): either outcome can move the loonie directly, and therefore Canadian-dollar gold, silver, and platinum prices, even if US dollar spot is unchanged. Canadian August GDP follows on Friday, October 30 at 8:30 AM ET. Wednesday, October 28, 2:00 PM ET — Federal Reserve rate decision, with the press conference at 2:30 PM ET (consensus hold at 3.75 to 4.00 percent, prior 3.75 to 4.00 percent; hike odds for this meeting are only about 9 to 10 percent, versus roughly 78 percent for December): the statement and press conference tone on oil-led inflation and December tightening will set yields and the US dollar, the two biggest near-term drivers for bullion. Thursday, October 29, 8:30 AM ET — US advance Q3 GDP and September PCE price index (GDP consensus about 3.0 percent annualized, prior Q2 growth 2.2 percent; PCE headline forecast up 0.5 percent month over month and core up 0.3 percent, prior core PCE 3.0 percent year over year in August): hot inflation with firm growth the day after the Fed decision would reinforce hike expectations and pressure metals, while softer data would challenge that pricing. Live prices: https://www.goldstocklive.com