Gold futures settled fractionally higher on Friday, with the COMEX December 2011 contract rising $4.90, or 0.3%, to $1,725.10 per ounce. The yellow metal’s modest advance served as a relief from the prior two days of intense selling pressure.
In spite of today’s advance, COMEX gold futures posted a weekly loss of 3.5%. On a month-to-date basis, the yellow metal is now lower by $0.10, or less than 0.1%.
Silver fared far better than gold on Friday, with the COMEX December 2011 contract climbing $0.91, or 2.9%, to $32.41 per ounce. However, silver tumbled considerably more than gold this week, by $2.27, or 6.5%. In November, gold’s sister precious metal is now lower by 8.3%.
Precious metals as a group have fallen victim in recent days to widespread liquidation in financial markets as ongoing sovereign debt turmoil in Europe has led investors to raise cash by selling any and all asset classes. With the challenges in Europe remaining at the forefront of investor worries, gold and silver could fall victim to further broad-based weakness next week.
Canaco Strikes Again at Magambazi Gold Discovery
* 16.29 g/t gold over 4.0m at hole MGZD209.
* 10.33 g/t gold over 3.5m at hole MGZD271.
