Gold prices declined sharply in international markets on Monday after an exceptional rally that pushed the yellow metal to record levels last week. Spot gold fell 3.3% to around $4,703 an ounce in early trade, after sliding more than 5% at one point during the session. Prices had touched an all-time high of $5,594.82 on Thursday.

The sharp correction was driven by higher margin requirements announced by CME Group, which led to forced liquidation of leveraged positions. Investor sentiment was also impacted by markets reassessing the US monetary policy outlook following President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair. Warsh is perceived as less dovish on interest rate cuts, reducing the appeal of non-yielding assets such as gold.

In India, the global correction spilled over into domestic bullion markets. Gold prices fell by Rs 4,780, or 3.22%, to Rs 143,460 per 10 grams in early trade. Despite the decline, prices continue to hover near historic highs after a strong rally through 2025 and early 2026. Across major cities, 24K gold continued to trade above Rs 15,000 per gram, with Chennai reporting the highest rates.

On the futures side, MCX gold traded lower at Rs 144,495 per 10 grams, down 2.21%. The relatively smaller decline compared to spot prices indicates cautious positioning by traders amid elevated volatility.

Silver prices witnessed a steeper fall than gold due to their higher speculative nature. Spot silver dropped 5% to $80.28 an ounce after hitting record highs of $121.64 last week. The decline was largely attributed to margin hikes on silver futures, which triggered heavy unwinding of speculative positions.

In the Indian market, silver prices fell sharply to Rs 250,510 per kg, down nearly 6%. MCX silver futures declined even further, slipping over 6.4% to Rs 248,499 per kg. Analysts note that while volatility is likely to remain high in the near term, the broader uptrend in precious metals remains intact unless global monetary conditions change materially.