Precious metals experienced sharp declines Thursday morning as a broad-based selloff swept across multiple asset classes, with analysts attributing the move to forced liquidation rather than fundamental factors. Gold fell $163, or 3.21%, to settle at $4,921, while silver dropped $9.00, or 10.73%, to $75.22. The 30-minute plunge between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. EST marked the worst intraday decline for both metals since January 29, when gold shed nearly $500 and silver lost 26% of its value. {chart} The selloff originated in the artificial intelligence sector, with companies like Nvidia and Alphabet experiencing weakness ... (full story)