Marketplace All-in-One What's behind gold's plunge?
Feb 2, 2026
Surinjana Tiwari, BBC tech reporter in Japan covering robotics and AI for elderly care. Nick Marsh, BBC markets reporter explaining sudden gold price swings. They discuss gold’s sharp plunge after a Fed nomination and prior two-year rally. Then explore Japan’s dementia care crisis and robots, AI gait screening, and companion devices as tech solutions.
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Gold's Drop Tied To Fed Chair Pick
- Gold's sharp drop followed President Trump naming Kevin Warsh as Fed chair, which strengthened the dollar and raised expectations that rates may not fall as much.
- Despite the correction, gold still trades over twice its value from two years ago, preserving major gains.
Keep Perspective During Market Corrections
- Avoid assuming short-term moves erase long-term gains when markets correct after big rallies.
- Keep perspective: corrections can be sharp but need not wipe out years of appreciation.
Two-Year Rally Raised Correction Risk
- A prolonged two‑year rally made gold vulnerable to a sharp correction after sustained buying from investors and central banks.
- Large-scale Chinese central bank and private purchases amplified the prior rally and set a high baseline for any pullback.