LONDON: Gold retreated from a two-week high and silver slumped 4 per cent on Thursday on steadier European shares and after Chinese market participants returned from a week-long holiday, selling the metals to lock in profits.

Spot gold eased 0.4pc to $1,139.66 an ounce by 1404 GMT. It had climbed to $1,153.30 in the previous session due to a lower dollar. Silver fell 4.2pc at $15.36 after a four-day rally to a 3-1/2-month high of $16.10.

Gold had gained $30 an ounce during China’s holiday between Oct 1 and Oct 7, while silver gained about $1.50 in the same period.

Elsewhere, SPDR Gold Trust, the top gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.26pc to 687.20 tonnes on Wednesday.

Platinum fell 0.2pc to $939.25 an ounce and palladium rose 0.3pc to $698.47 an ounce.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2015

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