Gold investors run for the exits, prices suffer biggest-ever drop

傳媒說的話, 唔識的俾佢嚇死, 識的俾佢笑死 !

乜全世界沽金, 而事實是全世界在掃實金實銀 !

NEW YORK/LONDON | Mon Apr 15, 2013 7:13pm EDT
 

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - The price of gold bullion tumbled another $125 per ounce on Monday in its biggest-ever daily loss, as investors liquidated bullish bets en masse after months of disappointment over the performance of the precious metal.
In percentage terms, Monday's 9 percent loss would be the biggest since 1983 and was almost double the loss on Friday. Commodities fell across the board, but few as hard as gold, which hit a two-year low, and silver which plunged 11 percent.

Bullion's collapse caught many veteran investors, who see gold as portfolio protection against inflation and other market risks, by surprise. Monday's drop eclipsed the rout on January 22, 1980, a day after gold hit its then-record $850 on global panic over oil-led inflation due to Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and the Iranian revolution.
There have been no sudden changes in the macro economic argument for gold in the last week, although numerous factors have kept gold from rising this year while investments like U.S. stocks took off.
While last week's news that the Central bank of Cyprus might sell gold reserves to finance its European Union bank bailout did trigger a rush for the exits when bullion slid below the pivotal $1,500 an ounce threshold, few saw it likely to usher in a round of other official disposals.
"The pressure from proposed sale of Cyprus gold is one of the factors, and once one of them start they all run from the hen house," said Robert Richardson, senior account executive and trading officer at Canadian broker-dealer W.D. Latimer Co. Ltd.
The big question is whether gold has entered a lasting bear market after 12 years of consecutive yearly gains. Gold hit the lowest price since February 2011 and has now almost halved its rally since the 2008 economic crisis, leaving the metal around $550 below its record high of $1,920.30 set in September 2011.

下刪幾千字

Liquidation came from all quarters, including exchange-traded funds, speculators and even physical bullion owners in China and India, the world's largest bullion markets, said David Govett, head of precious metals at Marex Spectron in London.
"This is a market that has only got one thing on its mind ... get me out," he said.