Bloomberg, (31/12) -- Gold, heading for the biggest slump in three decades, reached the lowest price since June as an improving economy cut request for wealth protection. Silver prices touched the lowest in more than four months.
Bullion futures for February delivery fell 29 percent this year to $1,186.90 an ounce at 9:12 a.m. on the Comex in New York, after touching $1,181.40, the lowest since June 28. Investors lost faith in the metal as a store of value as equities rallied and an economic recovery prompted the Federal Reserve to pare its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases. Silver dropped 38 percent in 2013 to $18.88 an ounce, heading for the biggest annual slump since 1981.
Assets in exchange-traded products backed by gold fell 33 percent to the lowest since 2009 amid sales by billionaires George Soros and John Paulson. Disposals of 867.8 metric tons in 2013 were more than the combined inflows in the prior three years, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The Standard & Poors 500 Index of shares climbed 29 percent and is set for its best year since 1997, while the International Monetary Fund signaled this month the U.S. economy will expand more than predict.
Silver is the second-worst performer in the S&P GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodities, which declined 2.3 percent. The MSCI All-Country World index of equities climbed 20 percent, while the dollar rose 3.4 percent against a 10-currency basket. The Bloomberg Treasury Bond Index fell 3.2 percent.