Gold tops $1,600
Gold rallied to fresh historic highs yet again this afternoon, reaching US$1,603 per ounce as traders bought the metal to protect wealth amid economic uncertainty in Europe and the US.
Contrary to expectations, Friday's results of the latest stress test of European banks failed to provide enough clarity on the health of the European banking system.
The European Banking Authority said that of the 91 banks included in the study, just eight failed the test and needed to raise €2.5 billion to withstand another debt crisis.
However, the stress test results were not convincing enough for the markets as they did not take into account the possibility of a debt default by Greece.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in the US are still struggling to forge an agreement that would raise the country's debt ceiling with the 2 August deadline just two weeks away.
Two high profile rating agencies, Moody's and Standard & Poor's, warned last week that the US could soon see its credit rating slashed if the Democrats and Republicans fail to work out a deal on time.
Gold last traded at US$1,599/oz.
Silver and platinum moved in the same direction as the yellow metal, surging to US$40.33/o and US$1,770/oz respectively.
The top risers in the sector today were:
Norseman Gold (LON:NGL), up 6 percent at 18.55 pence at midday
Kryso Resources (LON:KYS), up 5.5 percent at 16.12 pence
Angel Mining (LON:ANGM), up 5.5 percent at 2.35 pence
Shanta Gold (LON:SHG), up 5 percent at 20.75 pence
Ariana Resources (LON:AAU), up 5 percent at 4.33 pence
The top fallers in the sector were:
Regency Mines (LON:RGM), down 12 percent at 3.11 pence at midday
Orsu Metals (LON:OSU), down 8.5 percent at 10.42 pence
Eurasia Mining (LON:EUA), down 6 percent at 0.94 pence
Oxus Gold (LON:OXS), down 6 percent at 0.8 pence
Mariana Resources (LON:MARL), down 5.5 percent at 19 pence
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