Reply #4: Silver Slumps on Higher Margins; Gold Drops on Report of Soros Fund Sales [View All]

Silver futures dropped, heading for the biggest three-day fall since March 2008, as an increase in margin requirements on the Comex in New York drove investors away. Gold also fell after a report that Soros Fund Management LLC may have cut holdings.

Silver for July delivery slumped as much as 5 percent to $40.465 per ounce, after losing 7.6 percent yesterday and 5.2 percent on May 2. The metal was at $41.175 at 2:01 p.m. in Singapore, taking losses over the three days to 16 percent. Immediate-delivery gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,533.28 an ounce, also lower for a third session.

CME Group Ltd., Comex’s owner, said this week that the minimum amount of cash that must be deposited when borrowing from brokers to trade silver futures will rise to $16,200 per contract at the close of business yesterday, from $14,513. A year ago, the margin was $4,250.

“Silver is often the lead indicator for changes in trends, or at least for corrections,” David Wilson, an analyst at Societe Generale SA, wrote in a note. After futures rallied to a record $50.35 an ounce in January 1980, prices dropped 78 percent in four months.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-04/silver-slumps-for-third-day-as-increased-margins-spur-sales-by-investors.html