Gold falls, silver drops 4 pct after bin Laden death
By Frank Tang | Reuters – NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gold fell from a record high on Monday and silver notched its biggest one-day loss in seven weeks after the killing of Osama bin Laden sapped the safe-haven premium out of precious metals.
Silver bounced off early lows after falling as much as 11 percent, as speculators scaled back their bullish bets on increased futures margins and a technical overhang after a 170 percent rally over the last 12 months to a record high last week.
Gold initially rose to a record high for a fourth consecutive session, but news of the al Qaeda leader's killing by U.S. forces sent gold down almost 2 percent. The CBOE gold volatility index, a gauge of bullion investor anxiety, posted its biggest-ever two-session gain since its inception in September last year.
"People are pulling out of gold and going back into the equity market, as the news had a de-risking effect on the geopolitical environment," said Steven Faber, analyst at Haber Trilix Advisors, which manages $2 billion in assets.
Investor buying later lifted bullion off its lows after data showed U.S. manufacturing activity slowed in April for a second straight month but input prices reached their highest level in nearly three years.
Spot gold was down 0.4 percent at $1,558.09 an ounce by 2:26 p.m. EDT (1826 GMT), after hitting a record high for a fourth straight session at $1,575.79. U.S. June gold futures settled up 70 cents at $1,557.10 after ranging from $1,540.30 to $1,577.40.
