Gold fell 3.5% on Friday to reach $4,488 per ounce, capping an 11% weekly decline that marks the precious metal’s worst seven-day performance since 1983. Data from TradingView confirmed that the week of March 16–20 represented gold’s most damaging stretch in over four decades. The drop has intensified questions about gold’s traditional role as a safe haven asset during periods of global instability.
Gold has now lost more than 15% of its value since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched their first strikes against Iran. That decline has erased a significant portion of the rally that carried gold to approximately $5,500 per ounce in late January. The current weekly loss is marginally larger than a late-January selloff, during which gold climbed to around $5,320 before retreating to $4,650, wiping out more than $2 trillion in market capitalization within days.
The ongoing conflict with Iran is also disrupting international oil supplies, with particular concern focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy flows. Analysts and traders fear the disruption could develop into a prolonged energy crisis. Rising energy costs are already feeding into broader inflation expectations across major economies.
US President Donald Trump stated on Friday that he is weighing the possibility of scaling back military operations in the Middle East. Despite those remarks, the US has continued airstrikes in the region and has deployed thousands of additional troops there. The gap between Trump’s comments and ongoing military activity has added to market uncertainty.
Investor sentiment is also being shaped by expectations around monetary policy. Traders widely anticipate that the US Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged throughout the year, a stance that makes yield-bearing assets such as bonds more attractive relative to gold. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted on Wednesday that elevated energy prices are likely to push inflation higher, at least in the near term, further complicating the outlook for rate cuts.
Despite this week’s sharp losses, gold has outperformed Bitcoin over the past 12 months, gaining 48.5% compared to a 16.5% decline for the cryptocurrency over the same period. However, Bitcoin has shown greater resilience since the Iran conflict began, rising more than 11.6% to $70,535 following the initial US and Israeli strikes. The divergence highlights differing investor reactions to geopolitical risk across asset classes.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
