Precious metals sold off sharply last week as sentiment remained weak, according to the StoneX Bullion weekly round-up published on 2 November 2026 by Rhona O'Connell, Head of Market Analysis at StoneX. Silver fell 11% intra-day, touching $48.9, before a mild recovery at the start of the current week. Per StoneX's pricing table, the LBMA afternoon gold price stood at 3,904.19 dollars on 2 November, down 2.80% from 4,016.71 the previous week and down 9.88% year to date.
The LBMA silver price was 58.66 dollars, down 5.47% on the week and 23.41% lower year to date. Platinum closed at 1,629.94 dollars (-0.18% on the week, -28.41% year to date) and palladium at 1,271.77 dollars (+0.04% on the week, -25.94% year to date). The S&P 500 fell 0.57% to 7,580.07.
According to StoneX, further weakness in high-tech stocks accelerated the decline in gold, as distress liquidation took place in a falling market, and silver fell with it. The analysts note that concerns over silver's fundamental demand have weighed on the metal for several weeks, given pressure on its three main growth areas: electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and solar. StoneX says gold is down 31% from its 29 January peak and silver is down 59% from the same reference point.
StoneX also highlights official sector selling. Continued Russian official sector selling, together with offloading from Kazakhstan, has reinforced gold's role as an insurance policy and may be deterring some potential buyers, according to the report. The fall below 3,900 dollars, although brief, attracted dip-buyers, as did the decline in silver.
Monetary policy was a central theme. StoneX reports that markets read Fed Chair Kevin Warsh as signalling a possible December rate hike, even though he avoided forward guidance after the most recent FOMC meeting. In his remarks, quoted by StoneX, Warsh said inflation has been running above the Committee's objective for close to six years and that it is the Fed's responsibility to bring it down.
He also said financial conditions had tightened for some businesses and households, although he was 'unwilling and unable to call them tight'. The FOMC description of the pace of economic activity changed from 'solid' to 'strong', while the assessment of employment and other domestic conditions was largely unchanged. The Fed also announced a change to its meeting schedule starting next fall, with eight meetings per year and one meeting in 2027 dedicated to broad policy strategy.
Physical demand showed some signs of recovery. StoneX reports that festival buying has picked up in India, with local prices trading at premiums to London. Diwali begins with Dhanteras on Friday, with Diwali itself falling on Sunday 8 November.
The Indian government is reported to have issued import quotas of up to 6,000 tonnes of silver, valid for six months, which StoneX expects to ease possible tightness as buying improves ahead of Diwali and the following wedding season. In China, a stronger yuan and gold's international weakness are helping to revive a jewellery market that had been subdued, with Shanghai trading at a very small premium to London loco prices. Positioning and exchange-traded holdings data also point to subdued sentiment alongside some buying interest.
COMEX gold inventories were 721.5 tonnes on 27 October, the lowest reading since the de-listing of the Enhanced delivery contract, according to StoneX. Gold ETF holdings stood at 3,140.0 tonnes, the lowest since 1 October, although they are up 240 tonnes year to date. Gold net long positioning among managed money rose by 4.2 tonnes to 328 tonnes on 27 October, the first weekly increase after a run of declines.
Silver net long positioning fell to 516 tonnes, the lowest since 27 February 2024, marking a fifth consecutive weekly decline. Silver ETF holdings, by contrast, rose to 25,160 tonnes on 29 October, the highest since 13 March 2026. All positioning and holdings data are attributed by StoneX to CFTC and Bloomberg sources.
Looking ahead, StoneX expects silver to run a surplus equivalent to roughly seven weeks of global fabrication demand this year, rising to roughly eleven weeks if liquidation from ETPs is taken into account. The analysts note that liquidity is ample, with the one-month lease rate currently flat. On technical levels, StoneX states that gold's 4,000 dollar level has given way, with resistance at 4,026 to 4,099 dollars.
For silver, the report cites support at 52.3 dollars and resistance from 53.8 to 56.3 dollars, with a further level at 61.3 dollars. StoneX states that its medium-term opinion is largely unchanged, but that the recent weakness is attracting buyers. The firm also notes that the US mid-term elections are a focal point for Western markets, with bookmakers at the time of writing pricing a Democratic takeover of both chambers of Congress as the favourite.
This commentary represents the opinions of the author at the date stated and does not constitute tailored investment advice. Sources: StoneX Bullion weekly round-up (Rhona O'Connell, Head of Market Analysis), with price and market data from Bloomberg, positioning data from CFTC/Bloomberg, and remarks from the FOMC as quoted in the report.
Source: stonex.com