Silver Has More Than Halved Since January While War Pushes Oil Above $113

By EC Assets · Published 23 October 2026 · Updated 23 October 2026

Two wars are running, oil is above $113, and gold has just hit a three-month low.

On Thursday, gold fell as low as $4,058 an ounce in London trading, 27.2% below the record set at the end of January. Silver traded more than 50% below its January peak of $121. Over the same days, Brent pushed past $113 after further Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and fears of a new US-Iran escalation.

That is not how the textbook says it should go.

The safe-haven role went elsewhere. As investors moved out of equities, the 10-year Treasury yield fell 17 basis points to 4.96%, back below 5% for the first time in a month.

The trigger sat in technology. The Nasdaq slid more than 2% on Thursday after earnings from Tesla and Meta did little to ease concerns about AI spending. Trading Economics described the deepening tech sell-off as pushing traders to liquidate precious metals to cover losses in other assets.

That is the less comfortable side of a hedge. In a sell-off, investors sell what they can, not what they should. Gold is liquid, widely held and easy to sell.

At EC Assets, we judge a hedge by how it behaves on the day cash is needed, not by its reputation.

None of this settles gold's longer-term case. It does show that a safe haven protects you from some kinds of stress better than others.

Gold protects against many things. A margin call is not always one of them.