Gold and silver continue to slide

Gold futures dropped again this morning, leaving the commodity facing an eighth consecutive day of losses.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

Both gold and silver look set to record significant losses today (May 20th), with gold futures falling for the eighth session in succession.

An ounce of the precious metal for delivery in June fell by 1.6 per cent or $21.10 (£13.89) to $1,343.90. 

On Friday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released data showing major hedge funds held 74,432 short contracts on gold – the most since June 2006. These are effectively bets that the price of the metal will fall. 

Following a loss of 7.8 per cent in April, gold has dropped by more than seven per cent this month, with exchange-traded funds such as the SPDR Gold Trust consistently looking to release capital from the market. 

Meanwhile, silver futures look set to record their steepest decline in a month, with quantities of the metal for July delivery falling by 4.4 per cent to $21.36 per ounce. If it is to close at this level, it would mark the biggest fall since the metal slipped by 11 per cent on April 15th.

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