Photo: VCG

　　Gold and silver prices plunged drastically on Friday US time, with the scale equivalent to the combined GDP of the UK and France in 2025, ending the rapid gains seen in the recent weeks, which several major US financial media outlets linked to the announcement of a new hawkish nominee for Federal Reserve chair. Analysts said the selloff reflects a short-term pullback driven by investor profit-taking after the recent strong rally, while the long-term upward trend for precious metal prices is expected to be remained.

　　The speed and scale of Friday"s wipeout in gold and silver was unnerving. The sharp pullback in gold and silver erased an estimated $7.4 trillion in combined market value, based on above-ground supply and prevailing spot prices, according to a MarketWatch analysis. The amount is equivalent to the combined GDP of the UK and France in 2025. According to official IMF data, France"s GDP was $3.36 trillion and the UK"s GDP was $3.96 trillion in 2025.

　　Spot silver was down 28 percent at $83.45 an ounce, trading near its lows of the day. Silver futures plummeted 31.4 percent to settle at $78.53, marking their worst since March 1980. Spot gold fell around 9 percent to $4,895.22 an ounce. Gold futures dropped 11.4 percent to settle at $4,745.10, CNBC reported.

　　Several major US financial media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg and Forbes, linked this drop to the announcement of a new hawkish nominee for Federal Reserve chair.

　　Friday"s panic selling was triggered by a rebound in the US dollar after a report the Trump administration was preparing to nominate Kevin Warsh for Fed chair, a move later confirmed, Bloomberg reported.