Gold price falls back to the 3,000s range and retraces 30% in half a year—is the bull market over or is this a deep correction?

```htmlGolden Ten Data reported on June 25 that overnight, the spot price of London gold fell below the $4000/oz mark during trading, touching a low of $3958/oz for the first time since November 2025, representing a nearly 30% pullback from the historical high of $5598 at the start of the year. Silver dropped even more sharply, breaking below $60/oz during trading, which is half of its historical peak in January this year. From $5600 to $4000 in less than half a year, gold prices have returned to the era of “3” as the leading digit. Does this signal the end of the long bull run or is it a painful deep correction? Market divergence is intensifying. DBS Bank (China) Senior Investment Strategist Deng Zhijian analyzed that the core driver behind gold's decline lies in expectations of interest rate hikes triggered by US inflation. He stated that while inflation data appears mild on the surface, tail risks such as rising capital expenditure and expanding debt are accumulating, prompting central banks globally to adopt defensive rate hikes in advance, thus continuously suppressing interest-free assets like gold. A precious metals trader commented that the situation in the Middle East remains volatile, US inflation pressure persists, and market concerns over risk assets have not disappeared. According to traditional logic, gold should still have support, but at least in this round, capital has favored the US dollar first. The market’s next focus will be on whether signals of a slowdown in the US economy can be confirmed.```