Spot gold dropped 2.40% to trade near $4,026.56 an ounce during Friday’s session, while silver faced a steeper 6.40% decline to $53.801. The market shift reflects a broader reaction to energy-price spikes, which have pushed Brent crude toward $115.00 a barrel. This surge in energy costs has revived concerns over inflation, tempering any appetite for precious metals and encouraging a rebound in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield toward the 5.0% threshold.

While traders assign a 78% probability to at least one further Federal Reserve rate hike by December, the market remains fixated on upcoming manufacturing and service sector data. The dual pressure of rising crude prices and restrictive monetary policy has effectively sidelined gold’s traditional role as a hedge against global uncertainty. Investors are instead prioritizing liquidity, leaving bullion vulnerable to liquidation as equity markets struggle with the fallout of the latest energy-market volatility and stalled diplomatic negotiations between Washington and Tehran.