Why housebuilders are demanding state hand-outs… More hilarity in the housing industry this weekend. Builders are now demanding state help. As housing sales have collapsed, the construction industry faces mass redundancies, while house builders themselves have seen their share prices dive.

A strengthening dollar and a drop in oil prices caused spot gold prices to fall more than 2% today – its lowest level in a week, according to Thomson Reuters.

Dan Denning in The Daily Reckoning Australia doesn’t think this is a cause for concern: “After regrouping, shaking out the weak hands, and giving the dollar its due, gold is on the march again.

Just when I thought the worst was behind us, it wasn’t. The selling started about 3:00 a.m. New York time on the Globex. I’m not sure why this particular time is sometimes their favourite time for selling off the precious metals, but it has been in the past.

Gold prices climbed higher in early London trade as the dollar remained under pressure following weak U.S. payrolls data on Friday, reports Thomson Financial.

Friday’s grim jobs news has put further downward pressure on the already weak dollar, by reinforcing the widely-held view that the US economy is in a downturn.

At 9:27 am., spot gold was trading at $914.78 an ounce against $909.80 in late New York trades on Friday, according to Thomson.