Gold's Friday Plunge Potentially Driven by Gamma Squeeze

Gold experienced a significant drop on Friday, which analysts suggest may have been accelerated by a phenomenon known as a 'gamma squeeze.' According to PANews, this situation occurs when prices move through substantial options positions, prompting traders holding short options positions to purchase more futures or shares of gold ETFs to balance their portfolios. Conversely, when prices fall back through these levels, traders may need to sell. On Friday, a large number of options for the SPDR Gold ETF expired at strike prices of $465 and $455. Additionally, the CME Group's March and April options had significant positions concentrated at $5,300, $5,200, and $5,100.