Gold rebounds after sharp drop as investors await United States inflation data

Bullion rose as much as 1.5% on Friday after falling 3.2% on 12 February 2026, the biggest one-day drop in a week. The slide came alongside a broad pullback in U.S. stocks, with investors rattled by concerns about how artificial intelligence could affect corporate earnings. Liu Shiyao at Zijin Tianfeng Futures Co. attributed some of the metal’s decline to margin-related selling as investors with multi-asset portfolios sold commodities to meet calls.

The move was also amplified by systematic trading, including commodity trading advisers that use models to adjust positions as prices swing, Bloomberg strategist Michael Ball noted. Silver dropped almost 11% on 12 February 2026, and analysts cited profit-taking after precious metals recovered part of the losses from an early-month rout. Despite the volatility, gold was set to finish the week little changed.

Markets turned to U.S. inflation figures due later on 13 February 2026, which could reshape expectations for the Federal Reserve’s next steps. Robust January jobs data released earlier this week reduced the urgency for rate cuts by midyear, a shift that tends to weigh on non-yielding assets. On CNBC on 11 February 2026, hedge fund manager David Einhorn argued the Fed may end up cutting rates more than markets anticipate and linked that view to the incoming Fed leadership, with President Donald Trump having picked Kevin Warsh to succeed chair Jerome Powell.

Gold hit an all-time high above $5,595 an ounce on 29 January 2026 before falling about 13% over the following two sessions. Several banks have kept bullish forecasts, citing geopolitical tension, questions around Fed independence and demand for hard assets. On 13 February 2026, ANZ raised its outlook to $5,800 in the second quarter. Spot gold was up 0.5% at $4,946.81 an ounce as of 2:00 p.m. in Singapore. Silver gained 1.2% to $76.19, while platinum and palladium also rose, and the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index edged up 0.1%.

As GNcrypto wrote on 11 February 2026, tokenized commodities topped $6 billion after a 53% jump since the start of the year, with gold-backed tokens such as Tether Gold and Paxos Gold leading the growth. The report noted that on-chain gold products have expanded alongside spot bullion’s rally, giving crypto users a way to hold and transfer gold exposure without leaving digital-asset markets.