Gold futures drop over 4% to settle at lowest since mid-December

Gold futures dropped on Friday, settling at their lowest since Dec. 14. “The bearish fundamental of very little risk aversion in the marketplace at present is “working against the safe-haven metals,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com, in a market update Friday. A higher U.S. Dollar Index is also negative for the metals, he said. Meanwhile, bitcoin, which hit a new record high, may be “stealing some of the trader/investor buying interest that would have in the past been directed to the safe-haven metals,” said Wyckoff. February gold
GCG21,
+0.78%
lost $78.20, or 4.1%, to settle at $1,835.40 an ounce. That was the worst one-day percentage loss for a most-active contract since Nov. 9, according to Dow Jones Market Data.