Gold Drops 2.5% in a Week — Safe Haven Loses Its Shine
Gold recorded its sharpest weekly decline in months, shedding 2.5% as shifting market sentiment pulled investors away from safe-haven assets. The sell-off accelerated through the latter half of the week, pushing prices toward levels not seen since the recent rally began. The move caught many retail holders off guard, particularly those who bought near recent peaks.
The primary driver behind the slide is the strengthening U.S. dollar, which makes gold more expensive for buyers using other currencies — and less attractive as a result. Markets are also repricing Federal Reserve rate expectations, with fewer cuts now anticipated for 2025. When yields on dollar assets rise, gold — which pays no interest — becomes a harder sell.
For Turkish investors, the picture is complicated by the lira. A weaker lira has historically cushioned gold losses for local holders, but that buffer is thinner when global gold prices fall sharply and the dollar simultaneously strengthens. The question now is whether this is a healthy pullback in a longer bull run — or the beginning of a more significant reversal. Either way, the next few sessions will be telling.
Levent KAYIRA Commentary: Ekonomik Gündem Analysis: Turkish retail investors hold an estimated 5,000 tonnes of gold — one of the highest per-capita figures in the world. That cultural attachment means a 2.5% weekly drop in dollar-denominated gold translates directly into household balance sheet pain, even if the lira equivalent loss is slightly buffered.
Let's put numbers on it: if you held 100 grams of gold bought at peak prices around $3,200/oz, this week's drop to roughly $3,120 cost you approximately $25 in dollar terms — or around 850 TL at current exchange rates. Not catastrophic, but real.
From my years on the portfolio desk, I can tell you that gold corrections like this tend to shake out the weakest hands first. The institutional buyers — central banks, large funds — rarely panic at 2.5%. Turkey's central bank has been adding to reserves steadily; they won't flinch here.
The key indicator to watch is whether gold holds above its 50-day moving average near $3,050. A break below that level would signal a deeper correction toward $2,900. For Turkish investors, I would not be adding new positions right now — but I would absolutely not be selling in panic either.
Kaynak: Google News Ekonomi