– Gold Liquidations Open Thread (ZeroHedge, Sep. 23, 2011):
Update: Yep – it was a leak of a margin hike as just confirmed. Which may very well mean nobody actually had to liquidate, just the herd thundered, as it always does, in the wrong direction. Expect gold to actually rise on this news.
Everyone knew they were coming… Just not when. Now that the gold liquidation frenzy has struck we still don’t know much if anything: who was it, why, and where did the money go? Some rumors have it as a bank in Central, Eastern Europe unwinding massive PM positions, which if true is paradoxically bullish for gold and silver as reported previously, as it means the already tight liquidity situation in Europe is about to come to a head, possibly as soon as this weekend. Others speculate it was a plain vanilla satisfaction of collateral requirements by a big funds who may or may not be liquidating and who have sizable gold positions. Or, the simplest explanation, was it simply an expectation (and leak) of a gold margin hike?
– Case Closed: CME Hikes Gold, Silver, Copper Margins (ZeroHedge, Sep. 23, 2011):
And there you have it: CME just hiked gold margins by 21%, silver by 16% and copper by 18%. Mystery solved.
Gold Margin Hike 9.23
– Gold/Silver Plunge-fest (ZeroHedge, Sep. 23, 2011):
Gold down over $100, and Silver down over 15% – someone is liquidating. Rumors vary from very prominent hedge funds to Central European (as in geographically) central banks. Bottom line is, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point and will continue until every last seller is out, and until the margin calls end.
UPDATE: Silver <$30 -17%
Charts: Bloomberg
