(CNN/MONEY) — Just call it the gold cold.
The yellow metal plunged 4% Wednesday after investors interpreted comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke at his semi-annual hearing before the House as a sign that the Fed would not be launching a third round of quantitative easing, or QE3.
Silver and other precious metals were crushed too. Generally, investors view more quantitative easing by the Fed, i.e. the purchase of long-term bonds in order to keep rates low, as bullish for commodities.
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