Gold | featured news

Gold prices pushed higher as investors bet that demand for the metal in coins and bars would continue at a high rate following this month's plunge in prices.

As I write this post on April 15, spot gold prices, according to Bloomberg, settled down approximately 9% for the day (which marks the biggest one day decline since February of 1983), while spot silver prices were down approximately 12% for the day.

Gold headed for its biggest two-day drop in 30 years on Monday as funds accelerated their exits from the market, and investors also cut exposure to oil, copper and grain after underwhelming Chinese growth data.

Gold futures closed at their lowest level in 21 months, tallying a roughly 20% decline from their record level from August of 2011 to meet the standard for a bear market. Recent cuts to gold-price forecasts continued to hurt sentiment, prompting investors to lose confidence in gold as a safe-haven investment.

Gold hit a 10-month low and industrially focused precious metals extended a slump, as investors continued to favor other assets on hopes for a steadying global economy.

Gold futures slid to a six-month low as some investors lost confidence in gold's prospects after billionaire George Soros reduced his bullion holdings by half.

Over the last six months, Iran has evaded U.S. sanctions by importing Turkish gold to pay for billions of dollars worth of energy sales to Turkey.

Tapping a popular idea to restore confidence in the dollar, the Republican Party is expected to call for a commission to look at the idea of returning the U.S. to the gold standard. To make that happen, they're going to have to find a lot more gold.

A group of high-tech tycoons wants to mine nearby asteroids, hoping to turn science fiction into real profits. The plan is to use commercially built robotic ships to squeeze rocket fuel and valuable minerals like platinum and gold out of the lifeless rocks that routinely whiz by Earth. One of the company founders predicts they could have their version of a space-based gas station up and running by 2020.

Two military planes laden with 17 tons of silver and gold coins scooped up from a Spanish warship that sank during a 1804 gunbattle landed in Spain on Saturday, ending a 200-year odyssey that took the treasure from an ocean floor to Florida courtrooms.