Metals pounded Friday

Gold, silver and copper were hammered in commodity trades in New York as upheaval in equity markets has sapped demand from safe havens. For many investors holding on to gold as a safe haven in case a rainy day came along: This was that rainy day with gold, which had risen dramatically for much of the year, sold to cover other market bets. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold prices plummeted, giving up more than 7 percent or $88.10 to drop to $1,653.20 per troy ounce. Silver prices fell further, losing 9.6 percent to $36.53. Copper shed more than 7 percent to hit $3.48 per pound. Although equities posted tentative gains on the day, the Dow Jones industrial average gave up 6.4 percent for the week. Crude oil on Friday fared no better with prices dropping 6.3 percent to $80.15 per barrel. The dollar was mixed in Asia and lower in Europe, the dollar index falling 0.16 percent to 78.25. The euro rose to $1.3505 from Thursday's $1.3463. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 76.54 yen from 76.24 yen. The British pound rose to $1.5463 from $1.5344. The U.S. standard was 7.8040 Hong Kong dollars from Thursday's 7.8014 Hong Kong dollars. The U.S. dollar fell to 1.0283 Canadian dollars from 1.0285 Canadian. The Australian dollar rose to $0.9787 from $0.9744.