-- Posted Friday, 29 December 2006 | Digg This Article
Note: U.S. and Canadian stock markets will be closed on Monday in observance of New Year's Day. U.S. markets will remain closed on Tuesday in remembrance of Gerald R. Ford.
| Close | Gain/Loss | On Week |
Gold | $636.00 | +$1.80 | +2.65% |
Silver | $12.85 | +$0.03 | +2.55% |
XAU | 142.25 | -0.61% | +2.71% |
HUI | 338.24 | -0.48% | +3.12% |
GDM | 1084.07 | -0.46% | +2.84% |
JSE Gold | 2937.86 | -0.84% | +3.23% |
USD | 83.67 | -0.15 | -0.16% |
Euro | 131.92 | +0.31 | +0.57% |
Yen | 83.99 | -0.17 | -0.10% |
Oil | $61.05 | +$0.52 | -2.18% |
10-Year | 4.710% | +0.020 | +1.86% |
Bond | 111.4375 | -0.09375 | -0.67% |
Dow | 12463.15 | -0.31% | +0.97% |
Nasdaq | 2415.29 | -0.42% | +0.59% |
S&P | 1418.30 | -0.45% | +0.53% |
The Metals:
Gold fell a couple of dollars in Asia but rebounded to near unchanged by the open in London which took the price slightly higher on the day. It then fell back off a bit in early New York trade and remained near unchanged for most of the rest of trade before it rose in the last hour of trade and ended at its high of the day with a gain of 0.28%. Silver traded mostly slightly higher in Asia and London before it fell a bit in morning New York trade, but it also rallied higher in afternoon trade and ended back near its highs with a gain of 0.23%. Both gold and silver found gains for the fifth straight session to end the year with gains of 23% and 45%.
Euro gold remained above €480, platinum gained $21 to $1,133, palladium gained $9 to $332, and copper fell roughly 4 cents to about $2.84. For the year, platinum is up 17%, palladium is up 32%, and copper is up 41%.
Gold and silver equities fell over 1% in morning trade before they rebounded a bit in afternoon trade, but they still ended with about 0.5% losses.
The Economy:
Report | For | Reading | Expected | Previous |
New Home Sales | Nov | 30 | 30 | 30 |
All of this week’s economic reports:
Next week’s economic highlights include the ISM Index on Tuesday, Construction Spending and FOMC minutes on Wednesday, Initial Jobless Claims, Factory Orders, and ISM Services on Thursday, and December’s jobs data on Friday.
The Markets:
Charts Courtesy of http://finance.yahoo.com/
Oil rose ahead of the long weekend on geopolitical fears surrounding the reportedly imminent execution of Saddam Hussein.
The U.S. dollar index traded slightly lower as stronger-than-expected money supply data in Europe reinforced the view that the ECB will continue to raise interest rates.
Treasuries fell a bit in further reaction to Thursday’s strong economic data and on expectations for more economic improvement in 2007.
The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P rose slightly at the open, but all three indices steadily sold off from there and ended modestly lower on end of the year profit taking.
Among the big names making news in the market Friday were Chrysler, Goodyear, Exxon, AT&T, Sunstone, Huntsman, Power Corp. and Putnam, Apple, and Delta.
The Commentary:
“February Gold finished up 1.1 at 638, 0.3 off the high and 2.3 up from the low.
March Silver closed down 0.005 at 12.935. This was 0.075 up from the low and 0.075 off the high.
Gold spent the day in the upper end of yesterday's trading range in a quiet session focused on year-end positioning. The slightly weaker dollar and a late turnaround in energy prices did little to support the market, but then again gold has been trading more on political uncertainty and expectations for fund interest in the New Year than it has off of anything else. Electronic trade in CBOT metals will open normally at 6:15 PM on Monday and close early at 8:15 on Tuesday in observance of the National Day of Mourning for President Ford; open auction (pit trading) will be closed.
March silver traded up near the week's highs today but still struggled to break out and hold above 13.00. This marked the third day of consolidation. With the holiday shortened trading session and resulting light trading volume, it was not surprising to see the market fail to make any dramatic moves. Going into year's end, the trade has been focused on the possibility that fund traders could shift their interest to silver in early 2007. Electronic trade in CBOT metals will open normally at 6:15 PM on Monday and close early at 8:15 on Tuesday in observance of the National Day of Mourning for President Ford; open auction (pit trading) will be closed.”- The Hightower Report, Futures Analysis and Forecasting
GATA Posts:
GATA reception at conclusion of Vancouver conference
Will Gulf countries follow UAE in dollar drop?
Will the history of fiat money repeat itself?
The Statistics:
As of close of business: 12/28/2006
Gold Warehouse Stocks: | 7,534,516 | - |
Silver Warehouse Stocks: | 111,073,757 | - |
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 | 453.24 | 14,572,124 | US$ 9,207m |
LSE (London Stock Exchange) AND Euronext Paris | Gold Bullion Securities | 90.29 | 2,903,043 | US$ 1,844m |
Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) | Gold Bullion Securities | 10.53 | 338,385 | US$ 215m |
Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) | New Gold Debentures | 10.25 | 329,503 | US$ 208m |
Note: Change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data: The NYSE added 1.23 tonnes, the LSE subtracted 0.01 tonnes, and the JSE added 0.25 tonnes.
COMEX Gold Trust (IAU)
Profile as of 12/28/2006 | |
Total Net Assets | $906,126,297 | Ounces of Gold
in Trust | 1,429,417.361 |
Shares Outstanding | 14,400,000 | Tonnes of Gold
in Trust | 44.46 |
Note: No change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data.
Silver Trust (SLV)
Profile as of 12/28/2006 | |
Total Net Assets | $1,554,915,403 | Ounces of Silver
in Trust | 121,144,585.200 |
Shares Outstanding | 12,150,000 | Tonnes of Silver
in Trust | 3,768.02 |
Note: No change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data.
The Stocks:
Royal Gold’s (RGLD) acquired Penasquito Royalty and Arian Silver’s (AGQ.V) AGM statement were among the big stories in the gold and silver mining industry making headlines Friday.
WINNERS
1. Cumberland | CLG +5.62% $5.64 |
2. Minefinders | MFN+2.53% $8.90 |
3. New Gold | NGD+2.15% $7.61 |
LOSERS
1. Nevsun | NSU-3.13% $2.17 |
2. Almaden | AAU-3.02% $2.25 |
3. Exeter | XRA -2.93% $1.78 |
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:
Aquila Announces Change to Board of Directors - More
- December 29, 2006 | Item | E-mail
Laurion Mineral Exploration Inc. Appoints Cavalcanti Hume Funfer Inc. as Investor Relations Adviser; Issuance of Options to Directors; and Update on Exploration - More
- December 29, 2006 | Item | E-mail
Avalon closes $1,575,000 private placement - More
- December 29, 2006 | Item | E-mail
Roxmark completes flow-through financing - More
- December 29, 2006 | Item | E-mail
YSV Ventures Inc. Completes $140,876 Private Placement - More
Gold Seeker Weekly Wrap-Up: Gold & Silver Gain Over 2.5% on the Week; 23% & 45% on the Year