Gold, silver extend fall as CME margin hikes compound sharp selloff

NEW YORK: Gold and silver prices continued to fall on Monday as higher margin requirements at CME Group compounded last week’s sharp sell-off following the nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair.

Spot gold was down 5.2percent at USD4,613.99 an ounce by 11:00 a.m. ET (1600 GMT), after tumbling nearly 10percent earlier in the session. US gold futures for April delivery fell 2.3 to USD4,636.90 an ounce. Bullion tumbled 9.8 percent on Friday, and has shed about USD900 from its January 29 record high of USD5,594.82, erasing most of this year’s gains.

“Gold and silver are on a rollercoaster ride and when you get to the top of the ‘lift hill’, gravity takes over and you are heading down,” said SP Angel analyst John Meyer.

Spot silver fell 10.4percent to USD75.79 an ounce, after sliding as much as 15percent earlier in the session. Silver has dropped roughly 37percent since hitting a record high of USD121.64 last week. Despite the rout, analysts cautioned against reading the move as the start of a prolonged downturn.

“The conditions do not appear primed for a sustained reversal in gold prices,” said Michael Hsueh, precious metals analyst at Deutsche Bank, in a note, adding that investors “remain highly bid for upside,” pointing to continued volatility rather than a collapse in sentiment. CME Group said on Friday it would raise margin requirements on precious metal futures, with the changes taking effect after Monday’s market close.

Meanwhile, analysts said the sharp fall in prices has pushed out many speculative traders who had piled into the market during the rally, helping cool the market and reduce excess speculation.

“We saw some money coming out of ETFs and we suspect some brave hedge funds took it from there,” Meyer said. Meanwhile, the dollar index extended gains, making dollar-priced bullion more expensive for overseas buyers.

US President Donald Trump on Friday nominated former Fed official Kevin Warsh to succeed Chair Jerome Powell in May, with markets expecting a tilt toward rate cuts alongside tighter balance-sheet policy. Spot platinum fell by 3.3percent to USD2,090.80 per ounce, while palladium shed 2.7percent to USD1,652.25.