Gold prices slide

Singapore
Gold fell from near two-week highs and silver slumped 3 percent on Thursday, as Chinese investors sold the precious metals to take profits on return from a week-long holiday.
Spot gold eased 0.3 percent to $1,142 an ounce by 0635 GMT. The metal had climbed to $1,153.30 in the previous session, its highest since Sept. 24, before closing 0.1 percent lower as the dollar gained.
Silver fell as much as 3.2 percent before recovering slightly to trade down 2.7 percent at $15.63. Before Thursday, silver had rallied for four days, hitting a 3-1/2-month high earlier this week.
Gold gained $30 an ounce during China's holiday between Oct. 1 and Oct. 7, while silver gained about $1.50 in the same period, as the dollar weakened on sluggish US economic data.
"There is some profit-taking from the Chinese as both the metals moved considerably higher when they were away," said a bullion trader in Sydney. Platinum and palladium also fell.