CNBC: Worst One-Day Drop in 2013: Stocks Skid 2%, Dow Tumbles 250; Vix Spikes 40%
Stocks finished at session lows Monday, posting their sharpest one-day drop this year, as disappointing economic data from China triggered a selloff in commodities.
Wall Street Journal: Gold Plunges as Fears Over Inflation FadeMetal's 9.4% Drop on Comex Is Largest in 30 Years
Gold posted its biggest one-day percentage drop in 30 years Monday as new signs of a global economic slowdown emerged and fears diminished that central banks' easy-money policies would stoke inflation.
Gold futures for April delivery fell $140.40, or 9.4%, Monday to a two-year low at $1,360.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That extended their bear-market descent of more than 20% from their 2011 all-time high. Since Thursday, gold prices have declined by more than $203 an ounce, a record skid since the futures began trading in the U.S. in 1974.
The reversal comes as investors are grappling with signs the global economic expansion that began in 2009 is slowing.
The biggest story on global financial markets today is the collapse of gold and silver prices. Gold is down more than $90 an ounce since Friday – a fall of about 7 percent. The price drop comes on top of last week’s 4.7 percent tumble. Silver prices tumbled 8 percent, or $24 an ounce. Copper is also falling. The reasons for the plunge are linked to the recent rise in the stock market, the slow, steady improvement of the US economy and the recent strength of the dollar. Crude oil futures have tumbled on global markets, down to less than $89 for West Texas crude, the lowest price since December, 2012. For years gold bugs have predicted economic apocalypse with hyper-inflation and a collapse of stock prices. That simply hasn’t happened, and many investors have given up on gold, shifting funds out of precious metals. Last week Goldman Sachs issued a report, predicting gold prices would tumble. More volatility is expected in the days to come.
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