Gold Fund Gains 0.34% as Silver Fund Rises 0.27% | Gold & Silver, Oct 21
Key Facts
- The gold fund GLD rose 0.34% to US$378.90 on Wednesday 21 October.
- The silver fund SLV rose 0.27% to US$52.26, while the gold-miners fund GDX gained 0.72%.
- Buenaventura, Peru’s miner, rose 0.66% to US$30.44; Hecla gained 0.80% and Pan American Silver fell 1.45%.
- The US Federal Reserve meets on 27–28 October, a week away, and traders are weighing further interest-rate rises.
- Prediction markets: Polymarket gives 69.0% to two Fed rate rises in 2026 (US$1.13 million traded, read at 8:30 pm ET on 21 October). Bets, not forecasts.
Today’s Focus
Gold and silver funds edged higher on Wednesday 21 October. The gold fund GLD rose 0.34% to US$378.90, and the silver fund SLV rose 0.27% to US$52.26.
We could not confirm an official spot price from our usual feed for the day. A dealer report, USAGOLD, put spot gold near US$4,120 an ounce and spot silver near US$57.30, so the funds’ New York close and the spot readings differ slightly.
The Federal Reserve meets on 27–28 October, and Mexico and Peru are among the world’s largest silver producers.
What matters today. Precious metals were steady a week before the US central bank meets, with interest-rate bets setting the mood.
01 The session in one read
Gold and silver funds rose modestly on Wednesday 21 October. GLD gained 0.34% after a 0.54% fall on Tuesday, and SLV added 0.27%.
Spot gold held near US$4,120 an ounce, according to the dealer USAGOLD. Spot silver was near US$57.30, down about 1%, so the fund and spot readings pointed in different directions for silver.
The funds rose slightly while spot silver was reported lower, so the day’s direction is not clear for silver. The wider driver is interest-rate expectations: prediction markets give most weight to two Fed rate rises in 2026. The variable to watch is the Federal Reserve’s decision on 28 October.
02 The board
The board shows the two precious-metal funds higher and the miners mixed. Gold miners as a group rose 0.72%, while Pan American Silver fell 1.45%.
Hecla Mining rose 0.80% and Newmont 0.32%, so the miners’ moves were small.
| Asset | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Gold (GLD fund) | US$378.90 | +0.34% |
| Silver (SLV fund) | US$52.26 | +0.27% |
| Gold miners (GDX fund) | US$86.72 | +0.72% |
| Buenaventura | US$30.44 | +0.66% |
| Pan American Silver | US$43.65 | −1.45% |
Source: RT close, 2026-10-20. Where a commodity has no spot feed, an exchange-traded tracker or leading producer is shown as a labelled proxy.
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Latin America — Cross-Market Board
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBOV | 206,495.23 | -0.86% | +21.85% | 208,295.98 | 168,310 | 167,142 | — |
| IPSA | 10,985.55 | +0.54% | — | 10,926.50 | 11,210 | 10,984 | 1,513,213,483 |
| IPC MEX | 69,583.42 | +0.47% | +12.17% | 69,258.58 | 66,121 | 65,405 | 108,886,187 |
| MERVAL | 3,017,221 | — | +30.51% | 3,022,485 | 3,042,365 | 2,991,150 | — |
| COLCAP | 2,560.37 | +1.07% | — | 9.04 | 9.05 | 9.02 | 4,133 |
| BVL PERÚ | 59,870.67 | -0.52% | — | — | — | — | — |
| USD/BRL | 5.16 | +0.01% | -5.13% | 5.16 | 5.18 | 5.14 | — |
| EUR/BRL | 5.95 | +1.01% | -5.83% | 5.89 | 5.98 | 5.94 | — |
| USD/MXN | 17.06 | -0.24% | -8.58% | 17.10 | 17.08 | 17.01 | — |
| USD/CLP | 913.98 | +0.04% | -5.67% | 913.65 | 915.11 | 906.68 | — |
| USD/COP | 3,140 | +0.03% | -22.04% | 3,139 | 3,141 | 3,105 | — |
| USD/PEN | 3.36 | -0.66% | -4.82% | 3.38 | 3.38 | 3.35 | — |
| USD/ARS | 1,493 | +0.10% | +12.96% | 1,491 | 1,494 | 1,480 | — |
| USD/UYU | 40.27 | +1.24% | +1.80% | 39.77 | 40.27 | 40.23 | — |
| USD/PYG | 5,939 | +1.68% | -19.54% | 5,841 | 5,939 | 5,925 | — |
| USD/BOB | 11.64 | -0.76% | +72.04% | 11.73 | 11.72 | 11.64 | — |
| USD/DOP | 58.34 | +1.25% | -3.44% | 57.62 | 58.34 | 58.04 | — |
| USD/CRC | 445.92 | +0.89% | -9.71% | 441.97 | 448.50 | 445.92 | — |
03 What moved it
We could not confirm one trigger for the day. The US dollar index was almost unchanged at 101.7.
US stocks rose, with the S&P 500 up 0.58%. Rate-hike expectations, which tend to weigh on gold because it pays no interest, remained the wider backdrop.
US energy data also drew attention: commercial crude oil stocks fell 3.06 million barrels in the week to 16 October (forecast: a fall of 0.8 million; previous week: a fall of 8.6 million), and stocks at Cushing rose 0.987 million barrels (previous week: +1.862 million). Higher oil prices can feed inflation, which keeps rate-rise bets alive.
04 The Latin American read
Mexico and Peru are among the largest sources of the world’s silver. Buenaventura, the Peruvian miner, rose 0.66% to US$30.44.
Mexico’s peso weakened 1.4% to 18.68 per dollar on Wednesday, which lowers local costs in dollar terms for Mexican producers.
05 The names to watch
Buenaventura in Peru and the Mexican silver miners are the regional names to watch. The GDX and SLV funds give US investors a simple read on gold miners and silver.
06 The outlook
Attention turns to the Federal Reserve meeting on 27–28 October. A decision to raise rates again would add pressure on gold, while a pause would support it.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket, a prediction market, priced two Fed rate rises in 2026 at 69.0%, one rise at 20.5% and three at 8.6%, with US$1,133,791 traded (read at 8:30 pm ET on 21 October).
These prices are bets, not forecasts. They can move quickly on US inflation and jobs data.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
07 What to watch
- Federal Reserve decision (28 October): The statement will set the near-term path for real yields and gold.
- Spot silver: Dealer reports showed a fall of about 1% while the fund rose; the next session should clarify.
- Mexican peso and Peruvian sol: Currency moves decide whether higher silver prices lift local profits.
- US dollar index: A softer dollar usually supports dollar-priced metals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to gold on 21 October?
The gold fund GLD rose 0.34% to US$378.90. Spot gold traded near US$4,120 an ounce, according to a dealer report.
Why do spot silver and the silver fund disagree?
The SLV fund rose 0.27% at its New York close, while a dealer report put spot silver down about 1% at a different time of day.
How does this affect Mexico and Peru?
Mexico and Peru are among the largest silver producers, so silver prices matter for their mining revenue.
What do prediction markets say about the Fed?
Polymarket gave 69.0% to two Fed rate rises in 2026, as of 8:30 pm ET on 21 October. These are bets, not forecasts.
Market data: RT
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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