Silver drops 18%, worst in decades; platinum sinks ( SI1Z PA1Z PL1V HG1Z ) (by Myra P. Saefong)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Silver futures on Friday dropped 17.7% to log their biggest one-day percentage decline since least 1984, according to data from FactSet Research dating back to November 1984. Platinum futures also fell the most in a single day since May 20, 2010. The metals market suffered from a "massive, no-holds barred flight from risk to cash and the U.S. bond and dollar market," said Tim Murray, general manager of precious metals marketing at Johnson Matthey. December silver (si1z) dropped $6.48 to close at $30.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. October platinum sank $97.40, or 5.7%, to end at $1,613.20 an ounce. December palladium (pa1z) lost $21.55, or 3.3%, to end at $642.50 an ounce and December copper (hg1z) closed at $3.28 a pound, down 21 cents, or 6%.