Spot gold prices fell more than 3% to drop below $4,155 an ounce on Sept. 28, breaching the $4,200 level for the first time since Aug. 5. The asset's slide coincided with a 5% drop in silver prices, contributing to a broad sell off in precious metals during the morning trading session.

The combined market capitalization of gold and silver plummeted by approximately $1 trillion over a 10 hour period, pushing both metals to 7 week lows. The downturn is driven by an impasse over the Strait of Hormuz that has kept energy costs high, increasing pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to combat sticky inflation and reducing the appeal of non yielding assets.