Gold prices drop 1%. Is $1,150 next?

Gold prices dropped 1% Thursday.

U.S. stocks were able to evade the rout in Asia, but gold wasn't so lucky.

In fact, the precious metal has been one of the most jittery asset classes this year.

Gold prices plunged to a two-year low in April on worries about slowing growth in China. Investors also shunned gold in favor of stocks, which have had a record-setting run this year...before all the recent volatility.

Gold prices dropped more than 1% Thursday and currently hover around $1,377 an ounce.

Gold prices have been rocky all year.

After years of moving higher, gold prices are now down nearly 30% from all-time highs above $1,900 an ounce hit in mid-2011.

While gold bulls are often the most vociferous in their defense of the metal's enduring value, talk of a sharp fall in gold prices easily spooks investors.

skyzer
$GLD there we go: "Societe Generale Contemplates $1150 Gold, Cuts AngloGold, Randgold" Another anti-gold spam http://stks.co/qGci

Societe General's commodity analysts think gold could hit $1,150 in 2014 as investors rush out of their gold ETF holdings at a faster pace. The SPDR Gold Shares Trust fell 1% Thursday and is down nearly 18% this year.

Soc Gen's analysts said gold has been in a long-term bubble as inflation wary investors plowed into the precious metal as a hedge. Now that inflation concerns have ebbed, investors, they say, will sell out.

Other traders on StockTwits see technical reasons to bet on a gold sell-off.

MBForex
Thats the 3rd #CNBC Guest in under a 3mins to be Uber Bearish on #Gold.. Im bearish & scared now.. Just sayin $GLD http://dcl.sr/jA1

DarkPools
$SPY $GLD continues to say Fed exit. down 15 Bearish

Ah yes, lest we forget the Fed. That's what's causing all the market gyrations around the globe. The $64,000 question: When will they start tapering?

Still not all traders on StockTwits were quite as bearish.

avidchartist
$XAUUSD $GC_F $GLD Buying Gold mid year and holding til year end has been profitable in most years since 1999 http://stks.co/pGbz

As market strategist Jon Boorman notes, gold is always a hot topic.

JBoorman
So you decided to write a post about Gold. The good news: you'll get a ton of views. The bad news: you'll attract some crazies $GLD $GC_F

Posted in: bars, bullions, commodities, gold, prices, Societe General

• Lowe's struggles against Home Depot

  As the housing market heats up, so is competition among home improvement retailers.

  A day after Home Depot (HD) delivered earnings and revenue that were much better than forecasts and raised its guidance, Lowe's (LOW) reported a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit for the first-quarter on declining sales.

  Lowe's CEO Robert Niblock blamed "cooler than normal temperatures and greater precipitation" for the soft sales figures. In contrast, Home Depot CEO Frank Blake said his company continued to MORE

  Hibah Yousuf - May 22, 2013 1:14 PM ET
  Posted in: banks, earnings, hedge funds, home, home builder, Home Depot, housing, Lowe's, prices, rain, sales, Toll Brothers, weather

• Gold prices making a comeback

  The gold bugs have come out to play.

  Gold bounced back Monday after taking a massive beating over the past week or so.

  Early Monday, gold prices popped back above $1,400 for the first time in a week. Prices are still a far cry from their record $1,900 level but the modest bounce is encouraging for gold bugs.

  It was exactly one week ago that gold prices plunged more than 9% in their MORE

  Catherine Tymkiw - Apr 22, 2013 12:02 PM ET
  Posted in: bears, bugs, CFTC, cnnmoney, gold, gold prices, hedge funds, precious metal, prices, rebound, StockTwits

• Wall Street sours on gold

  Gold prices have dropped more than 10% during the last six months, and Wall Street analysts don't think a rebound is in the cards.

  Wall Street is turning its back on gold.

  Both Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank lowered their year-end forecast for the precious metal this week, citing an improving U.S. economy.

  Goldman slashed its target to $1,545 per ounce for 2013, down from its previously estimate of MORE

  Hibah Yousuf - Apr 10, 2013 2:06 PM ET
  Posted in: cyprus, Deutsche Bank, economy, Europe, forecast, gold, Goldman Sachs, inflation, outlook, prices, Wall Street

• Gold bugs are back ... sort of

  Gold is making a comeback, at least for today.

  The precious metal shot above $1,600 an ounce Monday, as rattled investors looked for safe spots to park off while Cyprus sorts out its banking issues. Over the weekend, it seemed like the tiny nation was going to get its 10 billion euro bailout and it would be business as usual.

  But then the strings were attached, in the form of a tax MORE

  Mar 18, 2013 1:23 PM ET
  Posted in: cyprus, euro, gold, gold shares ETF, prices, randgold, stocks

• Oil breaks $100, but don't expect QE3 boost to last

  Click the chart to track prices of oil and other commodities.

  Fresh stimulus action from the Federal Reserve drove commodity prices sharply higher Friday, but experts say don't expect the QE3-fueled boost to last long.

  Crude oil prices briefly topped $100 a barrel for the first time since early May Friday morning, as investors grew encouraged after the Fed announced a third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, saying it would buy $40 billion of MORE

  Hibah Yousuf - Sep 14, 2012 2:25 PM ET
  Posted in: bonds, commodities, ECB, economy, Europe, Fed, fiscal cliff, gold, oil, prices, QE3, stimulus

• Corn prices hit record as crops shrivel

  Click the chart to check prices of corn, soybeans and other commodities.

  Corn prices surged to a new record high Tuesday, as the worst drought in more than 50 years continues to plague more than half the country.

  Almost 90% of the United States' corn crops are in drought ravaged areas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and nearly 40% are situated in the hardest hit spots.

  Corn prices have MORE

  Hibah Yousuf - Jul 31, 2012 9:55 AM ET
  Posted in: agriculture, corn, crops, drought, heat, meat, Midwest, prices, soybean, wheat