The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition gold's slump to a five-year low this month is squeezing the world's biggest producers. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says a rout in bullion has sapped investor confidence in gold miners, sending the benchmark 30-member Philadelphia Stock Exchange Gold and Silver Index of the largest producers to its lowest since 2001. A five-day losing streak through Monday wiped $19-billion off the index, which includes Barrick and Newmont Mining Corp. (all figures U.S.). Gold's plunge is eroding profits at mines across the globe and stressing balance sheets in an industry where the biggest producers are weighed down by a record debt load of $31.5-billion. "The whole industry is on a bit of a knife-edge," said James Sutton at JPMorgan's $2-billion Natural Resources Fund. "They are making very, very small margins. Really everybody in the industry needs higher prices. You're going to see some companies run into trouble." Mr. Sutton figures the industry needs about $1,200 an ounce to break even. Bullion for immediate delivery declined to $1,086.18 an ounce on Monday, the lowest since March, 2010. The Philadelphia index posted its biggest one-day fall in seven years on Monday.