Precious metals enjoyed positive gains this week with London silver, gold and platinum rising 4.69 percent, 3.32 percent and 3.26 percent respectively. Stocks and the U.S. dollar rallied, as oil plunged Friday.

October crude-oil fell sharply Friday by $6.59 to close to $114.59 a barrel. Its one-day percentage loss was the biggest since 2004.

London silver closed to $13.62 an ounce — a gain of 61 cents the week and 80 cents from last Friday.

London platinum increase to $1,427 an ounce — a rise of $45 for the week and $27 from last Friday.

London gold rose to $824 an ounce, gaining $27 for the week and $37 from last Friday.

"The outlook for the U.S. dollar clearly remains to strengthen against the euro," said Dresdner Kleinwort consultant Peter Fertig. "We expect the European Central Bank will cut rates in the first quarter of next year."

"With oil prices coming down, headline inflation should decline considerably next year and that would be another nail in the coffin of the gold bulls," he added.

In economic news, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke soothed inflation fears and supported the dollar with his comments Friday.

“The recent decline in commodity prices, as well as the increased stability of the dollar, has been encouraging.

If not reversed, these developments, together with a pace of growth that is likely to fall short of potential for a time, should lead inflation to moderate later this year and next year.”

Gold typically follows oil and moves opposite to the greenback, as a weakened dollar encourages investors to buy gold, also considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty.

Silver, gold and platinum performance charts and tables follow as well as a Reuters weekly business recap video and three related precious metal articles.

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