Gold and silver ETFs crash up to 10%. What should investors do?

Gold and silver ETFs plunged up to 10% on Friday after a sharp surge in the U.S. dollar, triggered by stronger-than-expected January jobs data that dampened expectations of near-term interest rate cuts.

On Friday, Kotak Silver ETF crashed 10% to hit the day’s low of Rs 225.11. This was followed by Edelweiss Silver ETF, SBI Silver ETF, Zerodha Silver ETF, which went down upto 9% each.

Among gold funds, Tata Gold ETF fell the most, dropping about 6%, followed by SBI Gold ETF and Nippon India Gold ETF, which declined around 4% each on Friday.


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In international commodity markets, gold and silver rebounded on Friday as bargain-hunting emerged after both metals slid to one-week lows in the previous session. Spot gold rose about 1% to $4,966.83 per ounce, recovering after a more than 3% drop in the previous session that pushed prices below the key $5,000 mark. Spot silver climbed 2.1% to $76.76 per ounce, rebounding from an 11% fall recorded on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was largely flat against major peers, holding steady following mixed economic data. A firmer dollar typically makes greenback-denominated metals more expensive for holders of other currencies, which can weigh on demand.

What should investors do?

Abhishek Bhilwaria, BhilwariaMF, AMFI-registered MFD told ETMutualFunds that for investors navigating the high-price environment of February 2026, a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is the most effective way to manage the extreme volatility seen in gold and silver markets.

He recommended using the SIP route for silver due to its higher volatility and "parabolic" price swings, and by investing fixed amounts regularly into Gold and Silver ETFs or digital platforms, investors can build a core portfolio hedge of 10–15% without the high risk of a single large entry at a market peak.

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Manoj Kumar Jain of Prithvi Finmart said bullion markets are witnessing sharp volatility amid multiple global triggers, including inflation data from the United States, nuclear deal discussions between the U.S. and Iran, Lunar New Year holidays in China, and reports of negotiations involving the U.S. and Russia.

Jain further expects gold to hold key weekly support near $4,770 per troy ounce and silver around $65 per troy ounce and advised investors to avoid fresh positions for now.

Jigar Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst at Indusind Securities, said Silver steadied around $76/oz but was still set to decline for the third straight week, following another widespread selloff on Thursday as volatility returne,d and gold rose to around $4,960/oz after falling more than 3% in the previous session, as markets navigated elevated volatility.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

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