US gold futures jumped as much as 2.8 percent on Monday as investors flocked to gold as a safe haven amid heavy losses in global markets, and as Germany's central bank said it will hold on to the vast bulk of its gold reserves in the next 12 months.
December gold up $13.00, or 1.5 percent, at $901.50 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:50 am EDT (1450 GMT). COMEX estimated 10:00 am volume at 88,948 lots, while options turnover at 2,558 contracts. Spot gold quoted at $894.40/896.40 an ounce, up 1.5 percent from gold's nominal Friday close at $883.25.
December silver down 25.30 cents, or 1.8 percent, at $13.250 an ounce as less liquid silver dropped despite gold's rally. Silver rose to a high of $13.460 with the low at $12.720. COMEX final estimated 10:00 am volume at 16,338 lots. Spot silver at $13.15/13.2 an ounce, down 0.2 percent from Friday's nominal close of $13.39.
NYMEX January platinum down $15.10, or 1.3 percent, at $1,108.00 an ounce amid fears that a weaker economy would hurt car sales and, as a result, autocatalyst demand. Spot platinum was at $1,085.00/1,105.00. December palladium down $2.50, or 1.1 percent, at $223.00 an ounce. Spot palladium at $209.00/217.00.