Gold jumps above $1,700

NEW YORK, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Gold topped $1,700 per troy ounce Tuesday as equities sank with reports that a major policy announcement in Europe would be delayed.

European Union finance ministers canceled a meeting that was to include all 27 finance leaders from EU nations. The cancellation means heads of state gathering for Wednesday's summit will be empty-handed when it comes to a detailed program for recapitalizing Europe's banks and restructuring Greek debt.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold added $50.80 to reach $1,703.10 per troy ounce while silver added $1.62 to reach $33.27 per ounce.

Oil prices also rose sharply. December delivery West Texas Intermediate crude added $1.60 to reach $92.87 per barrel.

The dollar index was flat, rising 0.08 percent to 76.20.

The euro fell to $1.3909 from Monday's $1.3929. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 75.94 yen from Monday's 76.1 yen.

The British pound rose to $1.6005 from $1.5996. The U.S. dollar was 7.7747 Hong Kong dollars from 7.7769 HKD.

The U.S. standard rose to 1.0161 Canadian dollars from 1.0038 Canadian dollars. The Australian dollar fell to $1.0428 from $1.0474.