US gold and other precious metals ended with steep losses on Tuesday, falling earlier with crude oil prices as Hurricane Gustav weakened without causing major damage to Gulf Coast oil rigs, traders said. December gold finished 2.96 percent, or $24.70 lower, at $810.50 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Spot gold was lower at $804.90/806.25 per ounce, well below $830.35/832.35 in Thursday afternoon trade. London's afternoon gold fix was set at $798.50 an ounce. September silver closed 55.70 cents lower at $13.05 an ounce, a 4.09 percent decline. It dropped earlier to a low at $12.4750 from a $13.77 high. Silver tumbled with gold and other precious metals.
Selling was heavy in silver. COMEX estimated late volume at 36,605 lots. Spot silver was quoted sharply lower at $13.04/13.10 an ounce, compared with $13.58/13.68 at Friday's close. Silver gold fix was set at $13.18 an ounce. October platinum lost $86.30, or 5.79 percent, to finish $1,403.50 an ounce. It fell as low as $1,375.30 from a high at $1,499.8.
Spot platinum quoted substantially lower at $1,392.0/1,412.0. Palladium's decline was in line with other precious metals, but also trimmed losses with other metals. September palladium was down $13.55 at $290.25 by the end. Spot palladium was quoted with steep losses at $285.50/293.50 per ounce.