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Margin calls also likely added to the selloff, with some investors forced to exit positions in commodities including metals to provide liquidity, said Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS PAMP SA. “We are all clueless. It all happened so quickly and feels like a ‘risk-out’ move,” Shiels said. In times of extreme market stress, haven assets like gold will also be sold by investors in dire need of liquidity, she added.

"The fact that it's establishing itself as a 'precious ​proxy for the AI buildout', investors have likely also expanded positioning," said ‌Nicky ⁠Shiels, Head of Research & Metals Strategy at MKS PAMP.

Nicky Shiels, analyst at MKS Pamp, said that sovereign selling of gold by central banks or other institutions seeking to shore up their cash positions was one reason behind the drop in prices. “In times of war, it is about cash — dollars and guns are king, not gold,” she said. Some energy-stressed countries may consider selling gold reserves to safeguard against a looming energy crisis, she added.

“Powell has somewhat walked back the statement which weren’t as hawkish as feared, but focusing on the dual mandate keeping rates restrictive for longer,” said Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS PAMP SA. “That’s no help after a much larger washout earlier today which has hurt some confidence.”

"The ⁠known unknowns — conflict duration, escalation trajectory, and the macro inflation pass-through — remain unresolved," said Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS PAMP, adding that gold was facing more volatility.

The latest glitch “erases confidence over liquidity and price discovery at a time when the market has been contending with a market dysfunctioning given the wild price swings,” Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS PAMP SA.

China has been the “dominant driver” impacting prices of precious metals this time, said Nicky Shiels, head of research and metals strategy at MKS Pamp. “That’s been driven by a mix of speculative inflows, retail and institutional, through a mix of ETFs, physical bars and futures positioning,” she told CNBC.

Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS PAMP SA, told Bloomberg the plunge “happened so quickly and feels like a ‘risk-out’ move,” adding investors sought liquidity as technology stocks also dipped Thursday.

Margin calls also likely added to the selloff, with some investors forced to exit positions in commodities including metals to provide liquidity, said Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS PAMP SA.

“January will be remembered as the month when silver traded like a meme stock,” said Nicky Shiels, analyst at refinery MKS Pamp. “I got notes from people saying ‘you officially work in a casino’.” 

The sharp moves on Thursday and Friday capped a month that has been “the most volatile month in precious metals history,” said Nicky Shiels, analyst at MKS Pamp. Global turmoil — from Venezuela to Greenland to Iran — and a mounting sense of concern over US President Trump’s unpredictability sent investors scrambling into precious metals. “The unthinkable has been happening daily,” said Shiels. “The rally was obviously too much too fast,” she added. 

“Parabolic,” “frenzied” and “untradeable” were all descriptions of the market on Friday, wrote Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS PAMP SA. January 2026, she said, would go down as “the most volatile month in precious metals history.”

Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS PAMP, told CNBC earlier last week she felt the metals market is “broken given unheard-of volatility,” adding metals are being “overbought on a tactical basis,” while other analysts told CNBC the extreme price upswings did not match the increase in demand for the metals.

All products from MKS PAMP SA, one of the world’s most recognized bullion brands, were sold out, while people who arrived late were out of luck.