Gold prices at $ 1.772 per ounce

An economic report said here Sunday that gold prices were up in the third quarter of this year, reaching USD 1,772 per ounce in the end of September. The report by Zoumouruda Group said that the price of gold was in a tug-of-war situation during last week's global trading with the price difference reaching USD 44. The price until last Wednesday reached USD 1,739 per ounce due to steps to cover the losses sustained by European markets on the background of the debt crisis there. However, fears over Spain's intentions to seek aid from the European Rescue Fund led prices to rise, reaching USD 1,783 per ounce by last Thursday, said the report, noting that speculations over the price reaching USD 1,790 per ounce and even USD 1,800 per ounce is still on-going. The Zoumuruda report stressed that such expectations for the yellow metal were not set in stone, indicating that any economic crisis could lead the prices down to USD 1,750 per ounce. In regards to silver, the report noted that the prices also ended last week on an increase with it settling at USD 35.3 per ounce. The report also touched on price of platinum also rushed up and reached USD 1,663 per ounce with hopes of reaching USD 1,700 per ounce. Zoumuruda also touched on the prices in the local market, noting that the purchasing activities for precious metals were relatively calm.