-- Posted Monday, 26 March 2007 | Digg This Article
| Close | Gain/Loss |
Gold | $663.00 | +$6.80 |
Silver | $13.31 | +$0.18 |
XAU | 139.20 | +1.03% |
HUI | 345.93 | +1.49% |
GDM | 1091.45 | +0.69% |
JSE Gold | 2848.90 | -0.89% |
USD | 83.07 | -0.23 |
Euro | 133.33 | +0.43 |
Yen | 84.76 | UNCH |
Oil | $62.91 | +$0.63 |
10-Year | 4.587% | -0.026 |
T-Bond | 112.40625 | -0.375 |
Dow | 12469.07 | -0.10% |
Nasdaq | 2455.63 | +0.27% |
S&P | 1437.50 | +0.10% |
The Metals:
Gold rose a few dollars at the open in Asia and remained just under $660 for most of trade in London before it furthered its gains in New York and closed near its high with a gain of 1.04%. Silver followed a similar pattern and closed with a gain of 1.37%.
Euro gold rose back near €500, platinum gained $8 to $1,234, palladium lost $2 to $350, and copper rose roughly 6 cents to about $3.12.
Gold and silver equities opened with small gains before they soon fell off along with the major indices after poor New Home Sales data was released, but they then steadily roes for the rest of trade and ended with about 1% gains.
Chemists strike gold with gold catalysts
The Economy:
Report | For | Reading | Expected | Previous |
New Home Sales | Feb | 848K | 995K | 882K |
Tomorrow at 10AM is the Consumer Confidence report for March expected at 109.0.
The Markets:
Charts Courtesy of http://finance.yahoo.com/
Oil rose on worries over Iran as they continue to hold 15 British Navy personnel and have announced plans to try them for espionage.
The U.S. dollar index fell and treasuries rose as New Home Sales came in much lower than expected and pushed interest rates lower.
The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P fell markedly after New Home Sales disappointed, but all three indices steadily marched back higher and ended near unchanged in relatively light volume on hopes for lower interest rates.
Among the big names making news in the market today were Citigroup, Intel, Walgreen, and Tiffany.
The Commentary:
“April Gold finished up 6.6 at 663.9, 0.8 off the high and 4.1 up from the low.
May Silver closed up 0.183 at 13.41. This was 0.08 up from the low and 0.04 off the high.
An escalation in tensions with Iran, sharp gains in energy prices, and a weaker Dollar were enough positives to offset some weak housing data to push gold prices higher this session. Iran continues to hold 15 British sailors after capturing them last week in disputed waters and without a quick resolution to the matter the international incident is certainly funneling flight to safety support to gold. Political tensions with Iran are further being escalated by the UN taking additional steps to impose new sanctions by freezing bank assets and in response Iran has decided to limit access of UN inspectors to their nuclear facilities. Crude oil prices rose sharply in response to the Iran turmoil which in turn is supporting gold on rekindling inflation concerns. While sales for single-family home fell unexpectedly in February, the gold market was able to garner support from the Dollar's weak response to the economic data and implications for a possible reduction in US interest rates down the road. A major investment firm raised its price projection for gold by 2% this year which also supports the bull case.
Silver prices rebounded sharply on Monday as the market was not only supported by rising geopolitical tensions and high energy prices, but a strong rally in base metals also seemed to encourage buying in silver. The political conflict between Iran and Western leaders is escalating as Iran is still holding 15 British sailors while also limiting UN nuclear inspector access in response to more UN Security Council sanctions. This political turmoil is certainly raising demand for both gold and silver as safe haven assets. As an industrial metal silver could have weakened on news of an unexpected decline in US new home sales in February, but instead the silver market garnered support from strong gains in copper and other base metals on expectations for strong Chinese demand.” - The Hightower Report, Futures Analysis and Forecasting
GATA Posts:
Gene Arensberg's 'Got Gold Report' finds indicators improving
Fed contrives a clamor that it is too tough on inflation
Bush administration supports price fixing in Texas clothing case
Venezuela would shift oil trade away from U.S., toward China
'Power of the Scepter' purchases prompt contributions to GATA
The Statistics:
As of close of business: 3/23/2007
Gold Warehouse Stocks: | 7,578,353 | -197 |
Silver Warehouse Stocks: | 123,098,458 | +1,859,448 |
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 | 479.31 | 15,410,289 | US$ 10,110m |
LSE (London Stock Exchange) AND Euronext Paris | Gold Bullion Securities | 88.85 | 2,856,569 | US$ 1,899m |
Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) | Gold Bullion Securities | 11.42 | 366,950 | US$ 244m |
Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) | New Gold Debentures | 11.10 | 356,921 | US$ 234m |
Note: Change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data: The LSE/Euronext added 0.87 tonnes and the ASX added 0.12 tonnes.
COMEX Gold Trust (IAU)
Profile as of 3/23/2007 | |
Total Net Assets | $944,064,178 | Ounces of Gold
in Trust | 1,437,943.875 |
Shares Outstanding | 14,500,000 | Tonnes of Gold
in Trust | 44.73 |
Note: No change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data.
Silver Trust (SLV)
Profile as of 3/23/2007 | |
Total Net Assets | $1,737,049,912 | Ounces of Silver
in Trust | 129,961,277.700 |
Shares Outstanding | 13,050,000 | Tonnes of Silver
in Trust | 4,042.25 |
Note: Change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data: 30.97 tonnes were added to the trust.
The Stocks:
Centerra Gold’s (CG.TO) negotiations with representatives of the Kyrgyz Republic Government, Exeter’s (XRA) renamed project, Shoshone’s (SHSH.PK) pre-feasibility study, Coeur’s (CDE) new board member, and Avino’s (ASM.V) drill results were among the big stories in the gold and silver mining industry making headlines today.
WINNERS
1. Rio Narcea | RNO +12.53% $4.04 |
2. Cardero | CDY +8.51% $2.55 |
3. Coeur d’Alene | CDE +6.25% $4.25 |
LOSERS
1. Vista Gold | VGZ -1.63% $7.84 |
2. Eldorado Gold | EGO -1.61% $6.10 |
3. Banro | BAA -1.47% $11.40 |
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:
New Guinea Gold Corporation: Imwauna Drilling Intersects Grades to 44.5g/t Gold & 86g/t Silver Over 1.4m - More
- March 26, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Eurasia Gold announces late filing of financial statements - More
- March 26, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Hinterland arranges $1 Million Financing - More
- March 26, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Ecuador to review mine concessions, seek royalties - "Ecuador plans to revise its mining concessions and introduce royalty charges on foreign companies in the sector in an effort to boost state revenues, Energy Minister Alberto Acosta said on Monday." More
- March 26, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Closing of $3,099,350 Private Placement - More
- March 26, 2007 | Item | E-mail
La Mancha postpones the filing of its 2006 year end financials by a week - More
- March 26, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Victoria Resource Corporation: Project Update, Drilling Starts at Relief Canyon - More
- March 26, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Centerra Comments on Discussions With the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic Regarding the Kumtor Project and Parliamentary Actions - "Centerra Gold Inc. (Toronto:CG.TO - News) confirms today that together with Cameco Corporation it has been in negotiations with representatives of the Kyrgyz Republic Government for several weeks to address concerns of the Government with respect to prior agreements, as well as to further stabilize the operational environment for the Kumtor project going forward." More
- March 26, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Denison sweetens buyout bid for OmegaCorp - More
- March 26, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold & Silver Gain Over 1%