The assessment is based on a strong consensus across multiple high-authority primary sources. The most authoritative and relevant source, a Bloomberg report, directly confirms the statement, reporting that 'gold prices fell more than 6% and silver prices slid nearly 12%.' This provides powerful direct evidence for the claim.Further evidence for the magnitude of silver's decline comes from a MarketWatch report, which specifies that the most-active silver contract was down 'nearly 14%.' This not only supports the statement that silver's price 'declined by 12%' but suggests the actual drop may have been even larger.Multiple other credible sources, including the BBC and Reuters, corroborate the severity of the event without giving exact percentages, describing it in historic terms such as gold's 'sharpest one-day drop since 1983' and silver facing its 'worst day ever.' This language is highly consistent with price drops of the magnitude specified in the statement. The overall narrative across all provided sources is one of a 'plunge' and a 'precious metals meltdown,' with no conflicting or contradictory information presented. The evidence is both consistent and overwhelming.