Gold’s tumble Thursday, to a New York Mercantile Exchange settlement of  $1,781.40, down $45.10 an ounce,  marks the fourth time in three weeks that the most-active contract has lost at least $45 in a session. Of course , gold’s climb towards $1,900 earlier this month has made dollar drops of this size much easier. In percentage terms, Thursday’s 2.47% drop only counts as the seventh- largest drop in the last 12 months.

But such retreats are an uncomfortable reminder that gold, which has certainly benefited from panic about global growth and financial stability, isn’t a port of calm in any storm. Before Aug. 24, when gold lost  $104 — or 5.6% — in a single session, gold hadn’t fallen that much in a day since March 2008.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s Gold ETF Volatility Index GVZ, which similar to the S&P 500-based volatility index VIX gauges expectations of volatility for gold by looking at options — in this case for SPDR Gold Shares Exchange-Traded Fund GLD. The “gold Vix” shot up above 37 last week — a new high. – MarketWatch.com