GOLD PRICES

Gold prices held steady Friday as investors stood on the sidelines ahead of a key U.S. payrolls report due later in the day

Gold prices slipped a bit Thursday as a stronger dollar and signs that the U.S. economy is growing and avoiding a double-dip recession.

Gold prices recovered some early losses on Thursday after European stock markets fell, snapping a three-day rally, and as investors weighed up the prospect of a fresh round of quantitative easing from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Australia's Adamus Resources said on Thursday it expects a friendly takeover by Canada's Endeavour Mining Corp to be completed in early November, creating a West Africa-focused company producing a quarter million ounces of gold annually by 2013.

Gold's high price spurs private individuals to sell jewelry and other personal items made of the yellow metal.

Gold prices jumped 2 percent Tuesday and silver surged 2.1 percent as some investors opted for the safety of precious metals and Treasuries amid continued worries about Europe's sovereign debt crisis and weakness in the American economy.

Silver and gold prices rose Tuesday, lifting share prices of companies that mine the precious metals and underscoring just how tentative the U.S. economy is.

Gold regained strength on Tuesday as bargain hunting resurfaced after prices dropped more than 2 percent in the previous session, but higher equities and easing worries about recession in the United States could limit gains.

Gold regained strength Tuesday as bargain hunting resurfaced after prices dropped more than 2 percent in the previous session, but higher equities and easing U.S. recession fears could limit gains.

Mexico-focused miner AuRico Gold (AUQ.TO: Quote) has offered to buy Northgate Minerals (NGX.TO: Quote) for C$1.46 billion ($1.5 billion) in a friendly deal that would nearly double its output and expand its geographic reach as gold prices soar.

Gold prices dropped sharply in holiday-thinned trade on Monday, falling as much as 2.7 percent after Wall Street stocks opened higher, deflecting interest from the safe-haven metal.

Recent strikes in Indonesia by gold miners, pilots and supermarket staff over pay signal that workers have started to push for a greater share of profits in a booming economy that has drawn foreign investors partly for its low labor costs.

Canadian gold miner Northgate Minerals said it agreed to be bought by peer AuRico Gold for C$1.46 billion ($1.48 billion), and ended a deal with Primero Mining .

Record gold prices, rather than denting China's enthusiasm for bullion, have emboldened investors to plough more money into gold bars and riskier bullion-based derivatives.

Gold prices eased a touch in holiday-thinned trade on Monday as investors took bets on higher prices off the table, disappointed by a lack of clear guidance from the Federal Reserve on Friday on the options for U.S. economic stimulus.

Record gold prices, rather than denting China's enthusiasm for bullion, have emboldened investors to plough more money into gold bars and riskier bullion-based derivatives.

Record gold prices, rather than denting China's enthusiasm for bullion, have emboldened investors to plough more money into gold bars and riskier bullion-based derivatives.

A drive to benefit from record bullion prices lifted Australian gold production by 10 percent, or 24 metric tons, to 270 metric tons in the 2010/11 financial year, maintaining Australia's No. 2 ranking behind China, a sector survey released on Sunday showed.

Gold rose Friday nearly 2 percent after the head of the U.S. central bank, in a closely analyzed speech, declined to signal more money printing as a way energize the moribund U.S. economy.

Gold prices arrested this week's slide on Friday to rise nearly 1 percent ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later, which will be closely watched for hints on the outlook for Fed monetary policy.

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.