Gold and silver traded sharply lower in the middle of the European session on Friday, January 30th, the final session of the week and the month of January, amid profit-taking after reaching strong levels. However, both metals are on track to record significant gains for January. Gold is trading down approximately 5.73% at $5,083 per ounce, while silver is trading at $99.79 per ounce, down 14.75%.

Gold’s declines exceeded 8% this morning, while silver’s declines exceeded 15%, marking the largest profit-taking in years after reaching strong levels. Gold reached $5,595 per ounce yesterday, Thursday, while silver reached $121 per ounce.

In its latest memo released Thursday evening, Swiss bank UBS raised its forecast for gold prices to $6,200 an ounce this year, compared to its previous estimate of $5,000.

Despite declines in the final session of the week on Friday, gold is still recording gains of 17% in January, its largest monthly rise since 1980, while silver is up nearly 40% since the beginning of the year as demand for safe-haven assets continues to rise.

Platinum is trading at $2,282, down 13.18%, while palladium is down about 9.22%, trading at $1,810.