Gold and silver enjoyed sharp gains in a week where markets were up and down over concern for worsening financial conditions. Within a 48-hour span, gold rose and fell by the largest amount in 28 years. In the end, London gold and silver posted weekly gains of 11.5 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively. Platinum dropped 3.8 percent.
October crude-oil on Nymex closed at $104.55 per barrel, gaining 3.3 percent for the week.
London silver closed up to $12.15 an ounce — a gain of $1.31 on the week, or $1.35 from last Friday.
London platinum fell to $1,155 an ounce — a loss of $45 for the week, or $32 from last Friday.
London gold declined to $869 an ounce, falling $90 for the week and $119 from last Friday.
"A new era began today. There is hardly any other way to describe the possible outcome of the measures which the US an other authorities took in order to deploy the parachutes designed to stop this week’s freefall in global confidence and markets," said senior analyst Jon Nadler at Kitco Bullion Dealers.
"Those who are brave enough to declare that ‘This is IT’ or express confidence that gold/the dollar/stocks/housing/etc. will now follow a clear path this way, or that, will very likely live to eat their initial prognostications with a ladle full or yummy crow. Within days. Thus, we say, ‘wait and see’," he added.
Gold generally follows oil and moves opposite to the greenback, as a weakened dollar encourages investors to buy gold, also considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty.
Silver, gold and platinum performance charts and tables follow as well as a Reuters weekly business recap video and three related precious metal articles.
CoinNews London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold and Platinum
(Sept 15-19)
The London Fix is one of the most used bullion quotes around the world. The London AM fix for gold and platinum begins at 10:30am GMT (5:30am in New York), and the PM fix begins at 3pm GMT (10am in New York). The London Fix for silver begins each business day at 12pm GMT (7am in New York).
London Fix figures: percent and dollar changes
Sept 15-19
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
X
|
|
12.1%
|
$1.31
|
$12.15
|
| Gold |
X
|
|
11.5%
|
$90
|
$869
|
| Platinum |
|
X
|
-3.8%
|
-$45
|
$1155
|
Week change numbers are for Monday-Friday.
Sept 8-12
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-12.8%
|
-$1.58
|
$10.80
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-7.0%
|
-$56
|
$750
|
| Platinum |
|
X
|
-13.0%
|
-$178
|
$1187
|
Week change numbers are for Monday-Friday
Sept 1-5
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-6.3%
|
-$0.86
|
$12.72
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-2.8%
|
-$24
|
$809
|
| Platinum |
|
X
|
-4.4%
|
-$64
|
$1387
|
Week change numbers are for Monday-Friday
Aug 26-29*
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
X
|
|
5.4%
|
$0.71
|
$13.76
|
| Gold |
X
|
|
2.9%
|
$23
|
$833
|
| Platinum |
X
|
|
3.9%
|
$56
|
$1479
|
*Week change numbers are for Tuesday-Friday. (Market holiday on Monday).
Bullion and business related articles for the week
In related news, interesting or quick-read articles:
- September 19 – Gold falls as U.S. readies rescue plan for financials – MarketWatch
Gold futures plummeted Friday as speculation that a Washington-engineered rescue plan could avert financial crisis reduced demand for gold as an investment haven.
- September 19 – Gold climbs as dollar slides, oil jumps – Reuters
Gold rose almost 2 percent on Friday, recovering from earlier losses, as the dollar slipped sharply versus the euro and oil rallied more than $7 a barrel.
- September 19 – Parallax Views – Jon Nadler
A new era began today. There is hardly any other way to describe the possible outcome of the measures which the US an other authorities took in order to deploy the parachutes designed to stop this week’s freefall in global confidence and markets.
Business week overview and wrap-up by Reuters News
Wall Street had its biggest two-day rally since the October 1987 crash fueled by the Bush administration’s extraordinary plans to rescue the economy.
In stock market action, the three major US indexes:
-
The Dow gained 368.75 points Friday to close at 11,388.44.
-
The S&P 500 rose 48.57 points Friday, closing to 1,255.08.
- The Nasdaq gained 74.80 points Friday to finish at 2,273.90.
In other world markets:
-
The German DAX gained 326.11 points to close at 6,189.53.
-
The Paris CAC 40 rose 367.01 points to close at 4,324.87.
- And the London FTSE 100 moved up 431.3 points to close at 5,311.3.
SPEAKER: Milton Ezrati, chief economist and market strategist, Lord Abbett Conway Gittens reports from New York.
CoinNews bullion and finance related collector tools
Bullion and finance tools that may interest you:
