LONDON - Gold recovered from Monday's falls in the wake of Friday's announcement of SEC's (Securities and Exchange Commission) charges against Wall Street's largest investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS). The news toppled equity markets and pushed down commodities as Goldman is one of the largest commodity traders and a shareholder in the world's biggest gold backed exchange traded fund SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD). Precious metals and other commodities were on the rise today as the initial shocks from the GS charges and a volcano eruption in Iceland, which left most flights across Europe grounded, were subdued, leading to gains in equity and commodity markets. Gold is also supported by increased physical demand with investors buying the yellow metal on weakness following yesterday's falls that pushed it down at one time to US$1,124/oz. Gold has been on decline after hitting 2010 highs at nearly US$1,170/oz on safe haven buying amid volatility in currency and equity markets. The yellow metal still managed to remain above the US$1,150/oz level at the end of last week despite a stronger US dollar as precious metals were sought by traders due to concerns associated with massive sovereign debts in Europe and the US. Gold rose back, at least temporarily, to over US$1,140/oz today, while silver and platinum improved to US$17.93/oz and US$1,712/oz respectively.

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