Cash gold fell 0.5 per cent to $1,607.25 an ounce in Singapore, as it traded at $1,611.15 at 12:04 p.m. on concerns the maddening debt crisis swiping across the Eurozone is not contained

Holdings in bullion-backed exchange-traded funds, after hitting an all-time high of 2,360.810 metric tons on Dec. 14, plummeted for a fifth day to a one-month low of 2,329.921 tons yesterday, Bloomberg data showed. Minimal change was seen in the February-delivery contract at $1,612 an ounce on the Comex in New York.

Prices of the yellow metal fell 6.6 per cent last week to $1,560.97 on Dec. 15, its lowest price since Sept. 26. Its price has been up 13 per cent this year prior.

Spot silver likewise shed 1.1 per cent to $29.08 an ounce, from its last trade of $29.185 an ounce, 5.6 per cent lower in 2011.

Cash platinum retreated for a second day, as it slid 0.6 per cent to $1,419.50 an ounce. Palladium, down 21.5 per cent this year, fell 0.8 per cent to $629.50 an ounce.