Commodities : Precious Metals Plunge

Futures prices for gold, silver and platinum plunged Friday on the Commodity and Mercantile Exchanges in New York.

Platinum prices were down their single-day trading limit of $25, and gold prices fell to three-month lows in very active afternoon trading.

Analysts could find no news to account for the slump and blamed technical and psychological factors for the decline.

Marty McNeill, a metals analyst with Dominick & Dominick in New York, said options have expired on some contracts, causing some traders to sell to cover their positions. He said there was also a psychological component to the decline because gold prices slipped below $400 an ounce.

Platinum prices, which have been weak for several days, collapsed under the weight of the gold and silver selling, traders said.

Gold settled $10.50 to $11.40 lower with the contract for delivery in November at $393 an ounce; silver was 11.7 cents to 12.7 cents lower with November at $5.698 an ounce, and platinum was $25 to $28.10 lower with November at $502.30 an ounce.