Gold and silver recovered modestly on Monday, November 2, after a Friday rout that capped their worst October since 2008, according to Kitco News. Jen Bawden, founder of Bawden Capital, said in her latest market commentary that silver sits about 60% below its record of $121.64 an ounce and that gold hit a one-year low.
Bawden attributed the weakness to a cross-asset cash squeeze. The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged last week, yet markets still expect an increase in December, which raises the opportunity cost of holding gold and silver because neither pays a yield. The S&P 500 lost 2% on Friday, its biggest drop since early June. Bawden said large funds sell whatever is liquid in a stock selloff, and gold and silver are easy to sell. She added that surging energy prices from the Middle East conflict increase demand for U.S. dollars, which supports the greenback and pressures metals.
Bawden compared the episode with October 2008 and March 2020. After the 2008 Lehman collapse, gold fell about 29% and silver more than 50% from their March 2008 highs, then gold rose about 170% by August 2011 and silver climbed to nearly $50. In March 2020, gold fell roughly 10% and silver roughly 35% within days, then gold gained about 39% to a record by August 2020 and silver rose about 150%.
Bawden said prices could fall further before a sustainable bottom forms. She has placed limit orders targeting discounts of 20% to 30% in select mining equities. She also pointed to a divergence between Shanghai and Western silver prices during Friday's selloff, while noting that China's tax on silver removes much of the apparent premium.
Source: Kitco News - https://www.kitco.com/news/article/2026-11-02/gold-and-silver-selloff-buying-opportunity-lifetime-bawden-capital