Gold & Silver End Monday 1.8% and 2.3% Higher as Stocks Fall on Fresh Financial Woes

From Chris Mullen at GoldSeek.com...

Gold rose nearly $20 to $804 per ounce and silver rose over $0.50 to $13.33 by late trade in Asia on Monday before both metals fell back off in London to see just slight gains.

Crude oil saw early gains, but it then fell back off and closed slightly lower after Tropical Storm Fay was seen as not significantly impacting energy operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

Following the Wall Street open, the US Dollar index fell, Treasury bonds rose, and the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P dropped over 1% on renewed worries over the financial sector.

Citing unidentified sources, the Wall Street Journal reported that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. might have to pre-announce its third-quarter results in anticipation of a large loss. Barron's magazine said the US Treasury might have to recapitalize mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Both Gold and silver then rallied back higher in New York and ended back near their Asian highs with gains of 1.81% and 2.34% respectively.

The Gold Price in Euros rose to above €543, platinum gained $10 to $1388, and copper fell slightly to about $3.32.

Gold and silver equities rose over 3% at the open before they fell back off to see only modest gains by late morning, but they then rallied back higher into the close and ended with nearly 2% gains.

There were no major economic reports, but the NAHB reported that US homebuilder sentiment remains at a record low. Tuesday at 13:30 GMT brings the US Producer Price Index for July, expected to show 0.6% inflation for businesses month-on-month.

Building Permits for July are expected at 959,000, and Housing Starts expected at 960,000.