Gold tumbled 2% to US$4,570 an ounce on Friday (20 March), on track for its largest weekly decline since 1983, as reported by Trading Economics.
In 1983, gold prices fell nearly 15% for the year, closing at US$380 an ounce, driven by extensive selling of long positions.
This latest price drop comes amid escalating Middle East tensions sent energy prices to rise and dashed hopes for near-term interest rate cuts.
Trading Economics reports that the precious metal has fallen every week since the US-Israel strikes on Iran last month, pressured by rising Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and profit-taking as investors liquidated positions to offset losses elsewhere.
Over the past month, gold’s price has fallen 14.13%, but is still 48.45% higher than a year ago, as reported by Trading Economics.
As previously reported, gold began February 2026 under pressure following the sharp sell-off at the end of January – briefly trading as low as US$4,400 an ounce.
The Perth Mint says these lower levels attracted strong buying interest with investors stepping in to capitalise on what many viewed as ‘attractive’ value underpinned by resilient fundamentals.
In February, the Perth Mint sold 67,249 troy ounces of gold and 1.92 million ounces of silver in minted products form.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
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