Bear markets have plunged the price of global spot gold to a two-year low around $US1338 ($NZ1585) yesterday, the last loss being the largest two-day decline during the past 30 years.
A combination of underwhelming Chinese economic data, Cyprus' potential to sell tonnes of gold reserves and a possible end to quantitative easing ''money printing'' in the United States has prompted the selling of gold, and a large range of other commodities.
Gold producers, such as East Otago-based Oceana Gold, have had their share prices hammered as investors sell holdings.
Oil, food staples such as wheat and soy, and all precious and industrial metals have been sold off in reaction to the underperforming Chinese data.
During the past six months, spot gold prices have fallen 23%, and during the past five days were down 16%, trading at $US1338 yesterday, Craigs Investment Partners broker Peter McIntyre said.
''There has been a broad-based commodities' sell-off in the past few days, but precious metals have been hit the hardest. Gold, particularly, has borne the brunt and silver, too,'' he said.
The sell-off by investors may, in the short term, depress gold to below $US1300, Mr McIntyre said.
Expectations were for China to post first-quarter gross domestic product growth of 8%, but the figures came in at 7.7%.
Mr McIntyre said Cyprus had 13.9 tonnes of gold reserves and was expected to sell some to make up for any deficit in the euro-zone bail-out package.
Also raising concern was analysts' expectations the US' quantitative easing might be coming to an end, but Mr McIntyre expected it to continue for a further two years.
''This has major implications for gold companies, especially those which are high-cost producers,'' Mr McIntyre said.
East Otago-based Oceana Gold has lost 25% of its market capitalisation in recent days, with its share price plunging more than 24%, to trade around $2.39 yesterday.
From a year-high peak of $4.50 in October, Oceana shares had since plunged 46% to yesterday's $2.39.
Mr McIntyre also highlighted that all gold producers had got out of hedging gold production and sales during the past four years, as the gains from the spot gold price eclipsed hedge positions.
''All those producers are entirely reliant on the spot price of gold now,'' he said.
He said if it was costing companies $US900-$US1000 to produce an ounce, then at $US1300 an ounce it would become ''untenable'' to operate.
Production for Oceana's gold and copper development mine in the northern Philippines ''can't come soon enough'', Mr McIntyre said, as the large copper deposit is expected to offset rising gold production costs for Oceana.
Brent crude oil sank below $US101 a barrel to a nine-month low and was threatening to break below $US100 for the first time since early July. It was down about 15% from this year's peak of $US119.17 reached in early February, Reuters reported.
Prior to the latest Chinese and US data, the International Energy Agency, the US Energy Information Administration and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries had already lowered their global oil demand growth for 2013.
China's weaker-than-forecast GDP growth was backed by slower increases in industrial production and fixed-asset investment, despite strong lending growth in March, Vishnu Varathan, market economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank in Singapore, said.
''There are questions about the trend of bottoming in China's economy and whether it can re-accelerate above 8% this year in a sustainable way,'' he said.
