GOLD

European index futures rose and the euro edged off a seven-month low on Tuesday after a report that Italy may get financial support from China sparked a bout of short-covering but did nothing to ease fears that Europe is sliding into another banking crisis.

Toronto's main stock market index tumbled more than 2 percent on Monday afternoon as fears of a Greek debt default that could spread to other countries ripped through world markets.

Gold closed lower Monday after investors sold their holdings in the yellow metal to generate cash, while others took profit and a third group bought the surging U.S. dollar as a safe haven.

Surging auto sales in China could give a lift to palladium, a precious metal that has a critical industrial function in the catalytic converters of cars and trucks.

Vancouver-based Abzu Gold Ltd. said Monday it has begun drilling at a gold concession in Ghana.

Silver is set for a run this fall, perhaps as high as $65 per ounce, a gain of more than 50 percent over its current level, the chief economist of GoldMadeSimpleNews.com said Monday.

European stocks were down 2 percent in late trade on Monday, with French banking shares hit by mounting fears over their exposure to debt-stricken countries, but the lack of a sell-off at the open on Wall Street helped the market trim losses.

Uranium producer Paladin Energy said Monday it has drawn $127 million from a financing facility, to reimburse costs from the expansion at its Langer Heinrich project in Namibia.

Silver is set for a dramatic move higher, one that will even exceed the gains expected for gold, according to an asset manager for Dolefin, a Swiss investment advisers.

Growing fears of a Greek default sent a hurricane through heavily exposed French banks on Monday and hit the euro as investor confidence in the European currency area's ability to surmount a sovereign debt crisis ebbed.

Guinea's parliament adopted a new mining code that more than doubles the share the West African state can take in mining projects to 35% and toughens procedures for acquiring development permits, the government said on Saturday.

Prices for platinum and palladium, which are key metals used in making automobile catalytic converters, fell 1 percent Monday in U.S. futures trading as a strong dollar and profit-taking dragged down all precious metals.

Silver, bronze, ebony and plastics are seeing greater use in jewelery as surging gold prices put off price-conscious consumers, jewelery makers at an international trade fair said.

Gold fell further on Monday after posting its worst closing since June last week but bargain hunters could cushion the fall, while escalating worries about Europe's ability to resolve its debt crisis sent bullion priced in euro to a record high.

Withdrawals from hedge funds in September fell to their lowest level since before the credit crisis, as investors nervous over traditional 'safe havens' such as the Swiss franc and gold plumped for portfolios expected to make money in all seasons.

Gold in India extended losses on Monday afternoon, following similar trend overseas, although a weaker rupee kept the downside limited, dealers said.

Gold prices fought back Friday against a powerful downdraft of worry about Europe's currency, prosperity and even unity to end the day in positive territory.

Gold prices pared losses in choppy trade on Friday but were still on track for their biggest weekly loss since June as some investors cashed in gains after losing confidence in the metal's ability to build on this week's record highs.

Silver and gold both fell Friday but the white metal was off proportionately more because unlike gold, which is a pure play store of value, silver has a significant and growing role in various industrial applications.

Gold prices fell Friday as investors took profits, which in turn triggered computer selling, in an environment where the absence of a clear fiscal or monetary policy on both sides of the Atlantic made any attempt at an outlook for the yellow metal unusually dicey.

Gold prices tumbled by 2 percent on Friday, reversing earlier gains, with traders blaming heavy fund liquidation of the metal on the New York futures market, and the downward move picking up momentum as sell stops were triggered

Gold demand which dropped in the second quarter of this year is expected to strengthen by the end of 2011, driven by robust jewelry consumption in India and China and recovery in investment demand, senior World Gold Council (WGC) officials said on Friday.

The precious metal that we see on earth today has come from the sky, claimed the geologists from the University of Bristol.

Gold mining companies rose Thursday in U.S. trading along with the price of the yellow metal on increased purchases of bullion, an unexpectedly downbeat unemployment report and very little evidence that the domestic economy has much energy.

The Zimbabwe unit of Impala Platinum, the world's second largest producer of the precious metal, said on Thursday that the Zimbabwe government had taken steps to revoke its operating license but it remained in talks with authorities.

Semafo Inc., a Canada-based gold mining company, said Thursday it will spend up to $125 million to increase the processing capacity of a key facility in Burkina Faso by 6,000 metric tons per day.

In a nation whose love for gold is legendary, financial adviser Biju Daniel is one of scores of Indians who are rethinking how they amass riches through the precious metal.

Gold rose Thursday, rebounding from a 3 percent plunge the day before as bullion buyers made significant purchases and a decision by Europe's central bank to hold interest rates steady weakened the euro.

A worker at an Alaskan gold mine has died in an accident, according to Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp., which owns and operates the facility.