As Volatility Spikes, Here’s What Could Be Ahead for Gold and Silver

The shift from low to high volatility in the markets is on. And almost by default, that’ll include gold and silver, since they’re inversely correlated to stock markets most of the time.

We’ve already seen this at work. The S&P 500 fell 2.2% on April 2, and in response, gold rose 1.2% and silver 1.6%.

It’s more than just a daily phenomenon, though; any prolonged wave of uncertainty that hits the markets will push investors into gold. What’s happening on a small scale now will play out on a much bigger scale when sentiment shifts, especially in regard to our monetary system .

And when gold and silver volatility really ratchet up, it’ll be a lot of fun, as you’re about to see.

First, here’s a snapshot of the daily price movements in gold and silver since the year the last bull market peaked:

A few things stick out. You’ll first notice that gold and silver have rarely had a daily move greater than 5% over this time period. Further, volatility has decreased. Prior to 2018, gold’s average daily movement was 0.5%, and silver’s 0.8%. For the first three months of this year, however, those averages were almost halved.

You also see confirmation of what most of us already know: Silver’s volatility is usually greater than gold’s. Here’s a couple of the more dramatic examples: On May 13, 2011, gold rose 1.1%, but silver soared 11.4%. And on April 15, 2013, gold fell 9.2%, while silver dropped 14.1%.

But silver is not always more volatile than gold. In the chart above, silver's price movements were bigger 71.5% of the time—meaning gold’s were bigger 28.5% of the time. And the two metals don’t always go the same direction; gold rose 0.26% on December 2, 2008 (not shown), while silver declined 5.05%.

Exceptions aside, silver will continue to be more volatile than gold, especially on days when developments impact the markets unexpectedly.

So, if volatility really starts to ratchet up, what kind of levels might we see?

What High Volatility in Gold & Silver Look Like

The best example comes from what has been, so far, the greatest precious metals bull market in modern history.

The following chart shows the daily price movements of gold and silver from January 1971 through December 1980. Check it out.

- Source, Sprott Money Blog