Panic grows for Americans who piled into 'safe haven' gold and silver as prices crash by as much as 30%
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After soaring to record highs this week, gold and silver plunged this morning in a blow to everyday investors who had piled into the precious metals this year.
Silver crashed below the psychologically-important $100 an ounce level in the morning, but the sell-off intensified after noon in New York.
Silver was down by a staggering 33 percent at 1.30pm ET, while gold was lower by 12 percent. Both recovered slightly in afternoon trading.
After soaring to record highs this week, gold and silver plunged this morning in a blow to everyday investors who had piled into the precious metals this year.
Silver crashed below the psychologically-important $100 an ounce level in the morning, but the sell-off intensified after noon in New York.
Silver was down by a staggering 33 percent at 1.30pm ET, while gold was lower by 12 percent. Both recovered slightly in afternoon trading. 
The Warsh pick should help stabilize the dollar some and reduce the risk of deep, extended dollar weakness,’ Guha wrote.
‘That is also why gold and silver are sharply lower.’
For months, investors worried President Donald Trump might pick a Federal Reserve chair who would keep interest rates low, tolerate inflation, and weaken the dollar to help manage America’s massive debt.
That’s the perfect recipe that drove gold and silver to soar. When people lose faith in paper money, they rush into hard assets that governments cannot create more of.
Buyers of precious metals has not just big banks and hedge funds.
Even everyday Americans have joined the rush - using trading platforms like eToro and others buying mini gold bars at Costco.
For months, investors worried President Donald Trump might pick a Federal Reserve chair who would keep interest rates low, tolerate inflation, and weaken the dollar to help manage America’s massive debt.
That’s the perfect recipe that drove gold and silver to soar. When people lose faith in paper money, they rush into hard assets that governments cannot create more of.
Gold prices tumbled sharply after President Donald Trump’s pick for the next Federal Reserve chair eased market fears and triggered a sudden sell-off in precious metals.
Warsh, a Stanford scholar, served on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011, where he played a key role in stabilizing Wall Street during the 2008 financial crisis.
He was appointed at just 35 years old, making him the youngest governor in the central bank’s history.
If confirmed by the Senate, Warsh would replace current Fed chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends on May 15.
Powell’s tenure has been marked by repeated clashes with President Donald Trump, particularly over his refusal to cut interest rates as aggressively as the White House wanted.
That standoff came to a head on January 11, when Powell disclosed that he had been subpoenaed by the Justice Department - a revelation that rattled markets and intensified speculation over his future at the Fed.