-- Posted Thursday, 21 December 2006 | Digg This Article
| Close | Gain/Loss |
Gold | $618.10 | -$2.40 |
Silver | $12.35 | -$0.17 |
XAU | 138.47 | -1.84% |
HUI | 327.55 | -2.17% |
GDM | 1052.44 | -1.83% |
JSE Gold | 2905.86 | +0.01% |
USD | 83.62 | +0.13 |
Euro | 131.72 | -0.01 |
Yen | 84.48 | +0.03 |
Oil | $62.66 | -$1.06 |
10-Year | 4.549% | -0.046 |
T-Bond | 113.03125 | +0.46875 |
Dow | 12421.25 | -0.34% |
Nasdaq | 2415.85 | -0.48% |
S&P | 1418.31 | -0.37% |
The Metals:
Gold rose slightly in Asia and London and traded near unchanged for most of trade in New York, but it then dipped a couple dollars in the last hour of trade and ended near its lows with a loss of 0.39%. Silver followed a similar pattern and ended with a loss of 1.36%.
Euro gold fell under €470, platinum gained $1 to $1,118, palladium gained $1 to $322, and copper dropped roughly seven cents to about $2.88.
Gold and silver equities fell about 1% in the first hour of trade, fell off about 1% further in early afternoon trade, and ended with about 2% losses.
The Economy:
Report | For | Reading | Expected | Previous |
GDP | Q3 | 2.0% | 2.2% | 2.2% |
Chain Deflator | Q3 | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.8% |
Initial Claims | 12/16 | 315K | 315K | 306K |
Leading Indicators | Nov | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
Philadelphia Fed | Dec | -4.3 | 4.0 | 5.1 |
Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker had traders talking today after he said in a speech that “‘many forecasters have been saying core inflation will moderate in the near term, and this certainly would be desirable. But such a moderation is not yet evident, despite the two most recent (Consumer Price Inflation) reports.” Tomorrow at 8:30AM EST brings Durable Goods Orders for November expected at 1.5%, Personal Income for November expected at 0.4%, and Personal Spending expected at 0.6%. At 10AM is the revised reading for December Michigan Sentient expected at 90.2.
The Markets:
Oil fell over a dollar on warm weather forecasts for the Northeast and on the fact that shipping operations in the Gulf of Mexico have returned to normal after having been delayed due to dense fog.
The U.S. dollar index remained near unchanged to slightly despite poor economic data that made it less likely the fed will raise interest rates anytime soon.
Treasuries rose after GDP and the Philadelphia Fed came in poorer than expected and pushed interest rates lower.
The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P remained near unchanged on mixed earnings in morning trade, but they then fell off following the economically disappointing Philadelphia Fed report and ended with decent losses.
Among the big names making news in the market today were Highland and Delphi, ConAgra, A.G. Edwards, First Data, American Greetings, Raytheon, and General Mills.
The Commentary:
“Analyzing a rigged market in the short term is brutal. In free markets there are normal ebbs and flows in which technical analysis and understanding the fundamentals can be very useful for predictive/trading value. When it comes to gold, the only thing which really counts in the end is how much gold The Gold Cartel is going to throw at the market and how well physical demand holds up to counter their price suppression activities.
That does not mean that The Gold Cartel are the ones always doing the selling. Often it is just their price capping maneuvers and influence which gets the job done.” - From yesterday’s Midas report by Bill Murphy of LemetropoleCafe.com
“February Gold finished down 2.7 at 621.6, 3.4 off the high and 1 up from the low.
March Silver closed down 0.155 at 12.49. This was 0.03 up from the low and 0.14 off the high.
Without the distinctly favorable shake from the overnight Asian action, the US gold market was left to confront the rather heavy flow of US economic information. In fact, after the Dollar unable to extend the downside tilt seen in the prior session, it was clear that the bear camp gained some confidence. With the US economic reports mostly coming in soft on Thursday and the Dollar managing to firm in the immediate aftermath of the weak reports, it certainly seems like the gold market was confronted with a double negative. With oil prices weak, the numbers weak and the Dollar strong, the year end profit taking crowd has to be emboldened again. The trade continues to point to a series of critical chart levels in the February contract of $620 and $617.8.
Like the gold market, the silver was indirectly and perhaps directly undermined as a result of the slack US economic readings released during the session. While it might be overkill to suggest that the weak numbers Thursday actually hint at recessionary conditions, a sharp afternoon slide in equity prices, a sharp slide in oil prices and a massive washout in copper prices gives off the impression of significant economic slowing. The 200 day moving average in March silver ($12.26) drifted closer to the market Thursday and that could be a critical level for the fund interests.” - The Hightower Report, Futures Analysis and Forecasting
GATA Posts:
James Turk: Three strikes against the dollar
Reg Howe: Gold derivatives -- elephant in the boardroom
The Statistics:
As of close of business: 12/20/2006
Gold Warehouse Stocks: | 7,533,708 | - |
Silver Warehouse Stocks: | 111,205,109 | - |
Global Gold ETF Holdings
[WGC Sponsored ETF’s]
| Product name | Total Tonnes | Total Ounces | Total Value |
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) AND Singapore Exchange (SGX) | Streettracks Gold Shares | 452.01 | 14,532,457 | US$ 8,997m |
LSE (London Stock Exchange) AND Euronext Paris | Gold Bullion Securities | 90.30 | 2,903,300 | US$ 1,798m |
Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) | Gold Bullion Securities | 10.53 | 338,415 | US$ 210m |
Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) | New Gold Debentures | 10.00 | 321,600 | US$ 199m |
Change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data: The NYSE added 3.09 tonnes.
COMEX Gold Trust (IAU)
Profile as of 12/20/2006 | |
Total Net Assets | $886,906,937 | Ounces of Gold
in Trust | 1,429,417.361 |
Shares Outstanding | 14,400,000 | Tonnes of Gold
in Trust | 44.46 |
Change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data: 1.23 tonnes were added to the trust.
Silver Trust (SLV)
Profile as of 12/20/2006 | |
Total Net Assets | $1,435,402,840 | Ounces of Silver
in Trust | 112,173,316.800 |
Shares Outstanding | 11,250,000 | Tonnes of Silver
in Trust | 3,488.98 |
Note: No change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data.
Gold & Silver Stock News Update from GoldReview.com:
International Royalty’s (ROY) new royalty, U.S. Gold’s (UXG) drill results, Golden Star’s (GSS) share sale, IAMGOLD’s (IAG) new directors, Great Basin’s (GBN) project update, Shoshone’s (SHSH.PK) new field engineer, General Minerals’ (GNM.TO) future silver company spin-off, and First Majestic’s (FR.V) new silver mine were among the big stories in the gold and silver mining industry making headlines today.
WINNERS
1. Claude | CGR +2.78% $1.48 |
2. Rubicon | RBY +2.52% $1.22 |
3. Minefinders | MFN +1.40% $7.99 |
LOSERS
1. New Gold | NGD -6.37% $7.35 |
2. Freeport | FCX -6.05% $54.85 |
3. Ivanhoe | IVN -5.80% $9.59 |
Winners & Losers tracks NYSE and AMEX listed gold and silver mining stocks that trade over $1.
All of today's gold and silver stock news:
Condor Closes $2 Million Financing - More
- December 21, 2006 | Item | E-mail
Strait Gold Reports Results from Regional Exploration Program - More
- December 21, 2006 | Item | E-mail
Wescan completes private placement for gross proceeds of $2,070,750 - More
- December 21, 2006 | Item | E-mail
Mega Uranium Ltd. Releases Results for the Year Ended September 30, 2006 - More
- December 21, 2006 | Item | E-mail
Gold Seeker Closing Report – Gold & Silver Fall in Light Trade