Quick overview

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Gold and silver, which had risen with stocks this year, bounced back from the last session’s decline as the volatility gauge rose. Treasuries lost some of Thursday’s gains as investors gravitated toward US government bonds, which were seen as safer. The benchmark 10-year yield increased by two basis points to 4.11 percent before Friday’s US inflation data.

 

 

Gold recovered some of its losses following a sharp selloff in the previous session, when dip-buyers seized the metal ahead of important US inflation data. Bullion saw its largest one-day decline in a week on Friday, rising as much as 1.5 percent after losing 3.2 percent the day before.

Wall Street experienced jitters as prices fell across asset classes amid concerns about how AI would affect businesses’ profits.

Profit-taking also likely contributed to the recent selloff in gold and silver, which saw a nearly 11% decline on Thursday. Since precious metals recovered some of their losses from a historic rout at the beginning of the month, trading has been unusually volatile. Despite unpredictable price fluctuations, gold is predicted to end the week mostly unchanged.

Investors focus on the US inflation data expected to be released later Friday to ascertain the Federal Reserve’s next move. Strong January jobs data released this week reduced the Fed’s pressure to cut interest rates by the middle of the year. Lower interest rates are advantageous for precious metals, which do not pay interest.

The steep fluctuations underscored the growing risks associated with the AI boom and the erratic repercussions across industries, geographies, and asset classes. With the rise of the so-called AI scare trade, the actions of the last two sessions also demonstrated how swiftly changes in perceptions of AI can have an impact well beyond the technology industry.