I heard POG fell off a cliff yesterday because CME Group in Chicago raised the margin requirement for buying gold. If so, the move took the steam out of the market but did not quell the fire under it, meaning that fundamentals remain the same. However, we must question why CME increased the margin requirement on gold intra-day. 

 

The only answer is that they feared losses. In other words, they had to cool the market for their own sake, lest they suffer losses on potential margin calls that would not be paid in full.

 

Whatever the reason for yesterday's run-up in the price of gold and the rapid decline, we are still left with the questions of whether the spike was driven by rationality or panic and whether Asia and Europe care enough to have a similar reaction come Monday morning (and in the days following).