Gold tumbles to 2½-year low in Fed bloodbath / Copper falls after weak China data

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Gold and silver futures closed at their lowest levels in more than 2 ½ years Thursday, a day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank could move as early as this year to slow the flow of monetary stimulus to the economy.

Although Bernanke emphasized that the Fed’s moves would be dictated by economic data, “there seems to be a pretty broad expectation that [quantitative easing] is coming to an end in the next year or so,” said Peter A. Grant, chief market analyst at USAGOLD
Gold for August delivery (CNS:GCQ3) dropped $87.80, or more than 6%, to end Nymex floor trade at $1,286.20 an ounce — the lowest closing level since September 2010, according to FactSet data.

It was similar story for silver futures, with the July contract CNS:SIN3) falling $1.80 to finish at $19.82 an ounce

Analysts described the carnage as a “bloodbath,” with gold and other metals tumbling alongside other commodities in a broad selloff that swept across asset classes. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-prices-...=afterbell