Gold has fallen through the $4,000 an ounce mark to its lowest level in more than a year, with silver falling further still, in a sell-off that both Sri Lankan newsrooms carried on Saturday.
The Daily Mirror, running a Kitco News report, put spot gold at $3,880 an ounce, down 3.5 per cent on the day and close to 3 per cent on the week. Hiru News recorded the ounce at $3,875.53. The two figures were filed about half an hour apart and reflect a market still moving rather than a disagreement between the outlets.
Both agree on the benchmark: this is the weakest gold has been since October last year. The Kitco report dates the comparison precisely to 6 October 2025, when bullion touched an intraday low of $3,884.61.
Silver fell harder. Spot silver was last quoted at $48.95 an ounce, below the $50 threshold and down almost 6 per cent on the day. Its roughly 9 per cent slide since the previous Friday is its worst weekly performance since early June.
What makes the move awkward for analysts is that it came while the US dollar and bond yields were both weakening — conditions that normally support gold by lowering the cost of holding a non-yielding asset. The Kitco report describes significant frustration in the market as prices fell anyway.
The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Wednesday while maintaining its commitment to bringing inflation down. Markets still expect rate increases in December and through the first quarter of 2027. Philip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures, said gold would continue to struggle while the war with Iran keeps oil prices elevated. Traders are also looking ahead to US employment data and the midterm elections.
For Sri Lankan buyers, Hiru reported Sea Street quotations on Saturday of Rs. 355,000 for a 24-carat gold sovereign and Rs. 326,600 for a 22-carat sovereign.
Not reported: Neither filing gives a rupee comparison against earlier in the week, so the extent to which the global fall has reached Colombo retail prices is not stated.