Gold, silver, bitcoin and oil slide as ‘metals meltdown’ rattles markets – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsBitcoin dropped to a 10-month low in early trading today, as investors piled out of riskier assets.The world’s largest crypto assset dropped to $74,546, its lowest level since 7 April last year – and further from its record high above $125,000 set last year.The movements in markets on Friday night were a once in a generation event. The mania in gold and silver came to an abrupt halt, with the former crashing by as much as 10% and the latter collapsing by as much as 30%. The move in gold was the largest since the 1920s. The move in silver was the largest in history.While technically stores of value, still with strong long term fundamentals, the total collapse in precious metals prices shows that any market can become gripped by mania, especially in the age of financialisation and gamification. Given the build up of positioning and leverage involved, the sell-off is bleeding into other markets. Continue reading...