Gold and silver had jumped 30% and 71% to record highs in January before they started dropping. Losses spilt over into equity markets as investors ditched other assets to cover any precious metals losses. Global stocks fell for a third straight day, led by steep declines across Asia and in Europe, where basic resources stocks came under heavy fire.
MSCI’s All-World index was down 0.5% on the day, having fallen 1.5% since January 27’s record high. Investor nervousness was also reflected in a renewed rise in the VIX volatility index, which nudged to the 20-level that many view as a sign of heightened market tensions.
Gold slid 5% to its lowest in more than two weeks, while silver fell more than 7%. Oil dropped nearly 5%, easing from multi-month highs, and London Metal Exchange copper fell 3%.
On Friday, Trump named Warsh, a former governor of the Federal Reserve, to succeed Jerome Powell as head of the central bank in May. The choice sparked selling across financial markets.
–Reuters–
