US gold futures ended a touch lower on Wednesday, limiting losses in spite of plunging stock markets and widespread decline in commodities as investors turned to gold as a safe store amid fears of a global recession, traders said.
GOLD: December gold settled down 50 cents at $839.00 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. December futures ranged from a low of $833.10 to a peak of $859.20. COMEX estimated final gold volume at a thin 95,792 lots, options turnover seen at 12,421 lots.Spot gold was at $843.60/846.60 an ounce at 2:55 pm EDT (1855 GMT), up 1 percent from Tuesday's nominal close of $835.25.
SILVER: December silver ended down 88.00 cents, or 8 percent, at $10.180 an ounce. COMEX estimated final silver volume at 23,260 lots. Spot silver at $10.26/10.36, down 6.3 percent from Tuesday's nominal close of $10.95.