Gold, silver prices set to end wild week on a positive note

Gold and silver prices rose on Friday, capping a wild week that followed a historic selloff in precious metals.

The nomination of former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh as the next central bank chief last Friday triggered a surge in the dollar and a spectacular unwinding of the precious metals trade. The repercussions of the move led to extreme swings and outsized losses this week.

At 12:21 ET (17:21 GMT), Spot gold advanced 3.7% to $4,957.47/oz and gold futures for April gained 1.9% to $4,980.16/oz.

Spot silver jumped 7.9% to $76.6275/oz, while silver futures fell 0.5% to $76.397/oz.  

Gold set for weekly gain

Spot gold this week has swung from as low as $4,404.12/oz to as high as $5,092.68/oz.

On Thursday it halted a short-lived rally, failing to hold the $5,000/oz support level. But the climb resumed in Asian trade early this morning and has continued.

"The swift rebound suggests that positioning rather than macro shifts drove the overnight washout. With Chinese liquidity still abundant and the dollar broadly steady, metals remain underpinned even as volatility stays uncomfortably high," Neil Welsh, head of metals at Britannia Global Markets, said.

Gold’s gains on Tuesday and Wednesday were driven by elevated tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

The two sides held a meeting in Oman on Friday, with Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi reportedly saying the discussions had got off to a "good start."

Silver heads for deep weekly loss

Spot silver saw even more extreme swings than gold this week.

After Warsh’s nomination last Friday sent silver to its worst day in decades, the metal bounced back nearly 11% over Tuesday and Wednesday, only to tumble about 19% on Thursday.

Despite silver steadying on Friday after this roller-coaster, it was still on track for a loss of about 10% for the week.

"In precious metals, the sharp swings in silver underscore how reduced liquidity and fading Chinese interest can exaggerate moves," Britannia’s Welsh said.

"The white metal remains down by more than a third from its late-January peak, and conditions are likely to stay choppy until Chinese investors return post-holiday. Gold’s own retracement appears to be stabilizing on renewed haven demand," he added.

Other precious metals also gained, with spot platinum rising 1.3% to $2,098.00/oz.