Gold Prices Fall but Then Recover; Silver Steadily Climbs

Gold prices fought off an early drop to post modest gains Thursday as investors thought better of the yellow metal's value as a safe haven, and silver maintained its steady ascent.

The price of gold for December delivery settled at $1,763.20 per ounce, up from Wednesday's closing price of $1,757.30.

At one point in the day's trading gold had fallen to $1,705.40 but bounced off that low to gain 3.9 percent by the end of the session.

Spot gold, which has been falling since Tuesday, rose $8.58 to $1,770.76.

Gold's trajectory during the day was roughly the opposite of the stock market, which began strong, helped by Warren Buffet's decision to invest $5 billion in shares of heavily discounted Bank of America, but ended weak, weighed down by a fall in European equities.

The upturn of gold may reflect confidence among investors that Friday's speech by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will not result in selling pressure.

Silver settled at $40.75 after gaining $1.58 per ounce.

Both silver and gold continued climbing in electronic trading on the CME Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.