Oil, gold end higher on rising investor confidence

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, rose 59 cents to close at $78.95 dollars per barrel.

London's Brent North Sea crude for September also gained 59 cents to close at $78.18 dollars per barrel.

Prices fell below the 77-dollar level after the US government announced early Friday that growth slowed dramatically to 2.4 percent in the second quarter of this year, stoking fears that the recovery is losing steam.

The precious yellow metal also closed high on Friday while Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, have declined 1.5 per cent this week, heading for the biggest weekly drop since April 2009.

Gold futures for December delivery rose $12.70, or 1.1 per cent, to settle at $1183.90 on the Comex in New York, the biggest gain since July 13. The most-active contract ended the week down 0.3 per cent.

Gold prices shed $7.70 or 0.65 percent during the week from last Friday's closing price of $1,191.60 and also sank $66 or 5.28 percent during the month of July from a closing price of $1,249.90 on June 30.

Gold scaled as high as $1,260 last month as worries about the sovereign debt crisis in Europe reached a peak.

Silver futures for September delivery rose 38.6 cents, or 2.2 per cent, to settle at $18.003 an ounce on the Comex. The metal is down 0.5 per cent this week and 3.8 per cent in July.

Platinum futures for October delivery gained $13.40, or 0.9 per cent, to settle at $1576.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price gained 2.2 per cent this week and 2.6 per cent in July.

Palladium futures for September delivery advanced $8.80, or 1.8 per cent, to settle at $500 an ounce on the Nymex. The metal gained 7.1 per cent this week and 13 per cent this month