Gold Slips & Silver Slides as Dollar Rallies Ahead of "No Change" in Euro Interest Rates

From Chris Mullen at GoldSeek.com...

Gold fell over $15 an ounce as low as $789.15 by late trade in Asia on Wednesday, before it rose to see a $3.60 gain at $808.50 by mid-morning in New York.

But Gold then fell back off for most of the rest of US trade, ending with a loss of 0.2% for the day.

Silver fell fifty cents and $12.54 by late trade in Asia before it rose back to about $13 in early New York trade, but it also fell back off into the close and ended with a loss of 1.07%.

Crude oil fell as it was confirmed that Gustav did little damage to energy installations in the Gulf of Mexico. Many refineries are now coming back online safely, but traders were also watching developing storms in the Atlantic and preparing for Thursday's delayed US stockpile inventory report.

The US Dollar index rose as much as 60 points in early trade as the Euro and Pound both fell on further signs of economic weakness in Europe, making it likely that both the ECB and Bank of England will keep interest rates on hold Thursday.

But the Dollar fell off to close with a slight loss on speculation that view may be getting overplayed by now.

The Gold Price in Euros remained at about €554, platinum lost $10.50 to $1382, and copper gained a few cents to about $3.35.

Gold miners and silver equities fell as much as 5% by late morning, but they then bounced from their lows in afternoon trade to cut their losses below 4%.

Treasuries rose as the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P traded mostly lower on further worries over a weak global economy, but the Dow was able to rally higher in late trade to end with a slight gain.

The Federal Reserve's Beige Book analysis said economic growth remains slow and lending standards remain tight, but it also noted some signs of moderating inflation.

US Factory Orders for July were reported 1.3% higher, an unexpected jump. Thursday brings the ADP Employment report for August – expected at -30,000 – with Initial Jobless Claims and second-quarter Productivity to follow.