Spot gold prices fell nearly 1% to $4,137.85 per ounce on Oct. 2, leading a fresh wave of selling across the precious metals complex. The market wiped out $850 billion in combined gold and silver valuation within 3.5 hours, with an initial $430 billion erased during the first 90 minutes of the session. This crash persisted even though the probability of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike dropped to 21%.

The downturn follows a rout that began Sept. 28, when gold plummeted 3.4% in one of its rarest daily declines since 2006, recording a Z-score of -2.90. These losses are driven by a US 10 year Treasury yield at a 19 year high and inflation protected Treasury yields hitting 2.9%, the highest since the 2008 financial crisis. Geopolitical deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz has further pressured metals by keeping energy costs elevated, contributing to a 6% decline in gold this month and leaving it 25.7% below its peak.