The move is not likely profit taking, said Ross Norman, chief executive officer at Sharps Pixley. “If a trader was looking to take profit on his positions then one would finesse metal into the market slowly — so not profit-taking going on.”

“On the other hand, it could be a short play, with the seller looking to trigger stops below the market and thus extend the move lower significantly,” he said. “If so, he certainly caught the market by surprise as the move is counter-intuitive with everything else that is going on in the economy.” Norman added: “We are not sure if this was a fat-finger episode but that is quite possible.”