Gold extended its slump, and silver tumbled, after a stronger-than-expected US jobs report fueled bets that the Federal Reserve may start paring back its massive monetary stimulus soon.
Spot bullion fell more than 4% and silver slumped as much as 7% as the selloff following Friday’s employment figures initially accelerated at the start of Asian trading. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said the central bank should start tapering its asset purchases sooner rather than later, and in a gradual manner, fanning expectations that stimulus will be reined in.
The jobs data “beat expectations by a mile last week, which led to both gold and silver selling off into the close. This morning we are seeing the overhang of that as perhaps those traders a bit late to the party are panic-selling the open,” said John Feeney, business development manager at Guardian Vaults. “With low liquidity at this time of the week combining with a large number of stop losses being triggered we have seen a volatile open to start the week.”
