By Stuart Burns
The price of all precious metals plummeted on Friday and again on Monday as investors sort to liquidate profitable positions to raise cash.
Gold, in particular, has been the victim of its own success, rising strongly this quarter on the back of growing investor anxiety about the wider economy.
Longer-held positions were showing a healthy profit. So, when investors faced demands for margin calls on falling equities, the first place they turned to was to take profits on precious metals and cover the margin calls.
Gold price. Courtesy of Heraeus