Gold and silver fell on speculation a slowing U.S. economy will reduce demand for precious metals. The price of gold dropped 2.2 percent last week as the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1.2 percent. The Dow index fell as much as 0.7 percent today, erasing early gains. The U.S. Federal Reserve cut its discount rate on Aug. 17 to head off the rout in credit markets. Gold is still up 4.5 percent this year. “The risk to the economy is on the downside,” said Stephen Platt, a commodity analyst at Archer Financial Services Inc. in Chicago. “People are looking for safe returns. Gold doesn’t yield returns.”

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