Gold, Platinum, Silver Drop

Gold, platinum and silver plunged to their lowest in more than seven months as the dollar gained against the euro, reducing the appeal of precious metals as an alternative investment to U.S. denominated assets.
TradingEconomics.com, Bloomberg
8/11/2008 8:42:46 PM

Gold slumped as much as 2.6 percent to $802.34 an ounce, the lowest since Dec. 21, and 22 percent below its March 17 record of $1,032.70 an ounce. Platinum fell as much as 3.4 percent and silver 4.5 percent.

Gold stocks fell. Shares of Zhongjin Gold Corp., China's second-largest producer, dropped as much as 9.3 percent. The metal declined for a fourth day and traded at $805.48 an ounce at 10:53 a.m. in Singapore. Platinum traded at $1,479 and silver at $14.12 an ounce.

Bullion for December delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell by the exchange-imposed 5 percent daily limit to 182.82 yuan a gram ($828 an ounce). That's the lowest for a most-active contract since the exchange started trading gold futures in January.

The slump in gold triggered a tumble in related equities in China. Zijin Mining Group Co., which owns the country's largest gold mine, fell for a ninth trading day by as much as 4.6 percent to 5.18 yuan in Shanghai, the lowest since its debut.



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