Gold & Silver Fear Index

Where scared money goes. The Gold & Silver Fear Index reads how hard investors are buying the two oldest forms of insurance. Both metals are scored against their own recent ranges, then blended with the dollar and bond yields.

Why it matters. Gold does not pay interest. When people buy it anyway, they are paying for safety. A rising score means fear is being priced in before it shows up in stocks or currencies.

What makes the reading useful. It is behaviour, not opinion. Headlines can exaggerate; a record gold price cannot. That is why this index carries half of our Market Fear Index.

• Gold price versus its range — new highs push the score up quickly.
• Silver price — more volatile than gold, so it often moves first.
• Real yields and the dollar — gold struggles when bonds pay well; it flies when they do not.
• Market volatility — a nervous stock market sends money into metals.

Today: 53 — Neutral. Some safe-haven buying, but nothing unusual.

Direction: it fell 8 points over the last 7 days and fell 10 points over 30 days. Our record since 24 March averages 43.3, so today sits above its own normal.

Gold is at $4349.8 (-0.6%), silver at $65.64 (-0.4%).

The scale. Under 40 means investors are relaxed. 40–54 is normal hedging. 55–67 means fear is rising. Above 67 is a full flight to safety.

September 2026 so far. Average 57.0 over 23 days. Peak 62 on 9 September, low 54 on 5 September. Read the September story →

Last month averaged 54.7, so this month is running higher by 2.3. Every month on record →

Why does gold rise when world tension rises?

Because it is the asset nobody can sanction, default on or print. When the news gets worse, the bid for gold gets stronger. In our 2026 record the two scores have tended to climb together during major escalations.

Is a high score bullish for gold?

It says fear is already priced in. A very high reading means the safety trade is crowded, which is a reason for care, not a signal to chase. Treat it as a temperature, not a tip.

Why include silver?

Silver is half industrial metal, half monetary metal, and twice as volatile. When it outruns gold, the fear trade is crowded. We covered this in Silver at $72.

How is this different from the Market Fear Index?

This index is metals only. Market Fear blends it 50/50 with inverted crypto sentiment to read risk appetite across two very different crowds.