Gold extends drop with investors 'selling whatever they can'
Spot gold dropped as much as 5.1% to $1,451.55 an ounce, reversing earlier gains
Gold extended losses after its worst week in almost four decades, with investors "selling whatever they can" as the widening economic impact of the coronavirus spurred panic across markets.
The metal tumbled below $1,500 an ounce as market sentiment soured even after further emergency moves by the Federal Reserve.
The gold market is caught between demand for a haven and a rush to raise cash and cover losses in other markets. While retail dealers from Singapore to the UK recently saw a spike in demand for precious metals, gold exchange-traded funds had their biggest outflow since 2016 on Friday, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
"We are in a scenario where investors are selling whatever they can," said Carlo Alberto De Casa, a chief analyst at ActivTrades.
Spot gold dropped as much as 5.1% to $1,451.55 an ounce, reversing earlier gains. The metal lost 8.6% last week, the most since 1983.
The Fed on Sunday slashed borrowing costs to near zero and promised to boost its bond holdings by at least $700 billion, while other central banks have also dramatically stepped up efforts to support economies from the coronavirus crisis.
"Easing is not the medicine as the stock market has clearly signaled," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S. Still, gold "will eventually move higher given the inflationary impact of current and future decisions taken by governments around the world."