PRECIOUS-Gold hits 7-month low as hedge fund talk weighs on commodities
* Talk of hedge fund liquidation hits markets
* Silver, platinum group metals decline sharply
* Coming up: U.S. Fed meeting minutes at 1900 GMT
(New throughout; changes byline, dateline, previously LONDON) NEW YORK, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Gold fell below $1,600 an ounce to a seven-month low on Wednesday, as rumors of a troubled hedge fund forced to liquidate positions triggered a selloff of commodities. In what appeared to spark heavy losses in crude oil, gold tumbled 1.5 percent as traders cited talk that a large commodity hedge fund had been forced to dump its holdings. Silver and platinum fell more than 2.5 percent, while Brent crude oil lost about 2 percent. Gold selling accelerated after bullion slipped below $1,600 an ounce and completed a bearish technical formation known as a "death cross", when its 50-day moving average broke below its 200-day moving average. Analysts said some investors were selling gold due to jitters about upcoming minutes from a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting in January. Minutes from the December meeting showed some policymakers had been mulling a lessening or complete withdrawal of Fed stimulus. Spot gold was down 1.6 percent at $1,579 an ounce by 1:26 p.m. EST (1826 GMT), having hit $1,578.06, its lowest since July. U.S. gold futures for April delivery were down $25.40 at $1,578.80 an ounce. Silver fell 2.7 percent to $28.62 an ounce, platinum dropped 2.7 percent to $1,642, and palladium was down 3.3 percent at $736.47 an ounce. Prices at 1:26 p.m. EST (1826 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD CHG CHG CHG US gold 1578.80 -25.40 -1.6% -5.8% US silver 28.625 -0.797 -2.7% -5.3% US platinum 1647.00 -50.50 -3.0% 7.0% US palladium 739.25 -25.15 -3.3% 5.1%Gold 1579.00 -25.21 -1.6% -5.7% Silver 28.62 -0.80 -2.7% -5.6% Platinum 1642.00 -45.75 -2.7% 6.8% Palladium 736.47 -24.75 -3.3% 4.9%Gold Fix 1588.50 -13.50 -0.8% -4.5% Silver Fix 29.11 -89.00 -3.0% -2.8% Platinum Fix 1659.00 20.00 1.2% 8.9% Palladium Fix 754.00 8.00 1.0% 7.9%
(Editing by Dale Hudson)