Commodity Online
NEW YORK : Gold bounced back on Monday and hit above $800 an ounce on speculation investors and jewelers will purchase cheaper supplies of the metal after US dollar consolidated recent gains.

Gold futures for December delivery rose $13.60, or 1.7%, to $805.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold's decline last week was the biggest for a most-active contract since February 25, 1983. The price has fallen 22% from a record $1033.90 reached on March.

Silver futures also settled higher on a short-covering bounce. Comex December silver rose US28.7c to $US13.217 an ounce.

Meanwhile, platinum and palladium futures settled higher on US dollar weakness and commercial demand. Nymex October platinum rose $5.70 to settle at $1393.90 an ounce, while September palladium on the exchange gained $2.10 to finish at $286.90 an ounce.