Gold prices took a sharp leg lower Friday morning, falling to $4,548 per ounce by 9:05 a.m. Eastern Time, a $155 drop from the same time Thursday, according to Fortune's daily price tracker. The pullback arrived on the same day Kevin Warsh formally assumed the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve, succeeding Jerome Powell at the end of his term.
Silver moved erratically through the session. Spot prices held near $83.62 per ounce, marginally higher on the day in U.S. markets, but futures on India's Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) skidded roughly 4% — among the steepest intraday declines for the metal in weeks. Gold futures on the MCX dropped about 1.5%.
Profit-Taking Meets a Firmer Dollar
The correction caps a turbulent stretch for precious metals, which had rallied to records earlier in the spring on safe-haven flows tied to Middle East tensions and dollar weakness. Analysts cited a rotation back toward risk assets, a firmer U.S. dollar, and a meaningful move higher in global bond yields as the immediate catalysts.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield is holding near 4.34%, close to its highest levels since 2007, raising the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like bullion. Crude oil also pushed higher overnight, further complicating the inflation picture and reinforcing expectations that central banks may keep policy rates elevated longer than markets had hoped only weeks ago.
Even after Friday's slide, gold remains up roughly $1,352 from a year ago. Spot pricing has retraced about 16% from January's all-time high near $5,589 per ounce, according to data referenced by the World Gold Council.
Warsh Inherits a Sticky-Inflation Problem
Warsh, confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday in a 54-45 vote — the narrowest margin in the modern era — takes the gavel just as April's Consumer Price Index printed at 3.8% year-over-year, the highest reading since May 2023. April's Producer Price Index shocked markets earlier in the week with a 6% headline jump, pushing futures traders to price in a non-trivial probability of a rate hike rather than the cuts expected at the start of the year.
Warsh's first policy meeting at the helm runs June 16-17. In recent commentary, the new chair has signaled a tougher line on inflation than his predecessor and emphasized restoring central bank credibility — language traders read as hawkish at the margin. That tone is partly responsible for the rates back-up that pressured gold this morning.
What's Supporting the Floor
Despite the day's red screens, structural demand has not evaporated. The World Gold Council reported that global central banks added 244 net tonnes of gold reserves in the first quarter of 2026, a 3% year-over-year increase, with emerging-market buyers leading the charge.
ETF flows have also remained constructive, and physical demand out of Asia has been firm even as Western paper traders take profits. Wells Fargo's commodities team reiterated this week that it still sees a path to $6,300 per ounce on a multi-year view, despite near-term volatility.
For now, traders are watching whether gold can stabilize above the psychologically important $4,500 level into the weekend, and whether silver can defend $80 as the new Fed leadership transition reshapes the macro narrative.
Sources: Fortune ("Current price of gold: May 15, 2026"), Fortune ("Current price of silver as of Friday, May 15, 2026"), CNBC ("Kevin Warsh wins Senate confirmation as the next Federal Reserve chair"), Yahoo Finance ("Kevin Warsh confirmed new Fed chair as inflation kicks higher"), World Gold Council ("Gold Outlook 2026"), Trading Economics (commodity pricing), Canadian Mining Report (Wells Fargo forecast).