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Gold, oil prices rise on debt worries
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The Canadian Press-
The prices of oil and gold rise sharply Monday as Europe's continuing debt crisis led investors to seek tangible assets that were expected to hold their value through times of uncertainty.
December crude traded at $95.66 US a barrel earlier Monday, its highest level since August 2, before giving back a bit of that to close up $1.26 at $95.52 US.
Gold for December delivery closed up $35.00 US, at $1,791.10 US an ounce, a six week high, on the New York Mercantile.
But that was still far from the record high of $1,923.70 US it reached on September 6.
"The big story in Europe today has been the Italian market. While Greece managed to cobble together a coalition to pass the recent bailout agreement and then hold elections, the situation in Italy remains fluid," said Colin Cieszynski, a market analyst at CMC Markets Canada.
"Italy is a far bigger fish than Greece, which may force EU policy-makers to take much more prompt and decisive action."
Pressure mounted on Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi to resign Monday so a new government could pass the economic reforms Italy needs to avoid financial disaster, as the country's borrowing rates spiked Monday and talk of early elections intensified.
And in Greece, rival political parties were trying to come up with a power-sharing deal Monday to secure the next round in a €130 billion ($182 billion Cdn) rescue package.
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