-- Posted Wednesday, 4 April 2007 | Digg This Article
| Close | Gain/Loss |
Gold | $671.90 | +$7.90 |
Silver | $13.53 | +$0.17 |
XAU | 142.98 | +1.32% |
HUI | 356.02 | +1.89% |
GDM | 1121.46 | +1.64% |
JSE Gold | 2980.68 | +0.52% |
USD | 82.95 | -0.23 |
Euro | 133.71 | +0.38 |
Yen | 84.26 | +0.10 |
Oil | $64.38 | -$0.26 |
10-Year | 4.652% | -0.012 |
T-Bond | 111.28125 | +0.09375 |
Dow | 12530.05 | +0.16% |
Nasdaq | 2458.69 | +0.34% |
S&P | 1439.37 | +0.11% |
The Metals:
Gold traded near unchanged in Asia, rose slightly in London, and jumped over $10 higher to about $675 around 9AM EST in New York as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke. After initially coming out defiant, Ahmadinejad then announced plans to free the 15 captured British sailors and gold briefly dropped back under $668, but it soon rose back near its high of the session as the dollar fell on poor economic data. Gold topped $674 in afternoon trade before it dipped slightly into the close, but it still ended with a gain of 1.19%. Silver rose over $13.60 before it also dipped slightly into the close, but it still ended with a gain of 1.27%.
Euro gold rose to about €503, platinum gained $6 to $1,244, palladium lost $1 to $351, and copper rose slightly to about $3.29.
Gold and silver equities steadily rose throughout most of trade and ended with near 2% gains.
The Economy:
Report | For | Reading | Expected | Previous |
Factory Orders | Feb | 1.0% | 1.9% | -5.7% |
ISM Services | Mar | 52.4 | 54.7 | 54.3 |
ISM Services fell to a four year low and raised concerns about the economy, but also increased hopes for a fed interest rate cut. Also adding to interest rate cut hopes was a private report showing a worse than expected 106,000 addition in payrolls in March, though most are waiting for the Labor Department's payroll report on Friday before drawing any sound conclusions. Tomorrow at 8:30AM EST brings Initial Jobless Claims for 3/31 expected at 320,000.
The Markets:
Charts Courtesy of http://finance.yahoo.com/
Oil fell about a dollar at one point on easing geopolitical tensions as Iran announced it would pardon and release the 15 captured British military personnel, but prices moved back near unchanged after some surprising inventory data that was expected to come in about unchanged across the board. Far from unchanged, crude inventories built 4.3 million barrels, but that upward surprise was offset by a downward surprise in gasoline inventories which fell 5.0 million barrels as distillates came in unchanged. When all was said and done, prices ended just slightly lower.
The U.S. dollar index fell and treasuries rose after economic data came in worse than expected and pushed interest rates lower.
The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P traded mostly slightly higher on easing concerns about Iran and disappointing economic news that raised hopes for falling interest rates.
Among the big names making news in the market today were Circuit City, NYSE and Euronext, Yukos, DaimlerChrysler, Apollo, Best Buy, and Monsanto.
The Commentary:
“June Gold finished up 7.7 at 677.4, 3.6 off the high and 6.6 up from the low.
May Silver closed up 0.19 at 13.62. This was 0.16 up from the low and 0.07 off the high.
The gold market proved with its action that the market is focused on the prospect of ongoing physical and investment demand instead of on flight to quality demand. Certainly a slightly lower US Dollar provided some buying incentive but it is also possible that soaring copper prices and an economic exhale in the wake of the hostage release provided the bull camp with a new bullish angle on gold prices. While crude oil prices were weaker because of the resolution of the hostage crisis and an increase in weekly crude oil inventories, the gasoline market saw another significant decline in stocks and that in general propelled a number of energy markets higher. In the end, we suspect that the gold market was indirectly lifted by the gains in unleaded but also because of massive gains in the copper market.
With all the metals rising in sync and some metals managing extremely stellar gains in the face of slumping US economic information and a downshift in the level of geopolitical anxiety it would seem like the true focus of the silver market was measured on Wednesday. In other words long interest in the silver market is mostly being derived from good old fashioned physical and investment demand prospects and the whole hostage situation was apparently seen as an unnecessary impediment to global economic growth. Certainly the silver trade has been emboldened by the massive gains in copper as that indirectly hints at strong Asian demand for a host of commodities.” - The Hightower Report, Futures Analysis and Forecasting
GATA Posts:
Blanchard research note: Gold defies bigger central bank sales
John Embry's not selling until the next life
Apex Silver's quarterly loss explodes with hedging charge
Fannie Mae has probably bought and repackaged this one already
Help NYPost's John Crudele expose the PPT
Ted Butler: The excellence of silver
The Statistics:
As of close of business: 4/03/2007
Gold Warehouse Stocks: | 7,478,872 | - 98,676 |
Silver Warehouse Stocks: | 126,491,013 | + 624,779 |
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 | 485.16 | 15,598,520 | US$ 10,358m |
LSE (London Stock Exchange) AND Euronext Paris | Gold Bullion Securities | 88.84 | 2,856,284 | US$ 1,924m |
Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) | Gold Bullion Securities | 11.42 | 366,914 | US$ 247m |
Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) | New Gold Debentures | 11.35 | 364,809 | US$ 242m |
Note: Change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data: The NYSE added 1.23 tonnes.
COMEX Gold Trust (IAU)
Profile as of 4/3/2007 | |
Total Net Assets | $954,447,318 | Ounces of Gold
in Trust | 1,437,467.912 |
Shares Outstanding | 14,500,000 | Tonnes of Gold
in Trust | 44.71 |
Note: No change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data.
Silver Trust (SLV)
Profile as of 4/3/2007 | |
Total Net Assets | $1,751,530,769 | Ounces of Silver
in Trust | 131,952,260.500 |
Shares Outstanding | 13,250,000 | Tonnes of Silver
in Trust | 4,104.17 |
Note: No change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data.
The Stocks:
Lundin Mining’s (LUN.TO) offer to buy Rio Narcea (RNO), Miramar’s (MNG) increased mineral resources and exploration program, Barrick’s (ABX) status as the world's No. 1 gold miner, Exeter’s (XRA) drill results, SNS Silver’s (SNS.V) progress report, Great Panther’s (GPR.TO) drill results, and Fury’s (FUR.V) drilling were among the big stories in the gold and silver mining industry making headlines today.
WINNERS
1. Minco Gold | MGH+13.99% $1.79 |
2. Entree Gold | EGI +10.86% $1.94 |
3. Great Basin | GBN +10.29% $2.25 |
LOSERS
1. Northgate | NXG -3.26% $3.26 |
2. Royal Gold | RGLD-2.45% $29.48 |
3. New Gold | NGD -2.07% $7.09 |
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:
Dhanoa Minerals Arranges U.S. $1.3 Million Financing at $1.90 per Share - More
- April 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Sprott sets price for molybdenum fund offering - More
- April 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail
SNS Silver Corp. - Progress report on the Crescent Mine - "SNS Silver Corp. ("SNS" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that progress is being made at its Crescent Mine ("Crescent") in Idaho. Utilities have now been installed on the property with water, gas, and telecommunications infrastructure completed. Rehabilitation of the surface structures is well underway and completion is expected in the next few weeks. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Field Training has been completed and a training plan has been instituted at the mine for underground miners as well as surface personnel." More
- April 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Miramar Announces Approved $31 Million Program for Hope Bay - "Our 2007 exploration campaign is already underway at Hope Bay," said Tony Walsh, Miramar's President and CEO. "The program is aggressive and focuses on the work needed to get Miramar to a production decision on Doris North (Phase I), and determine the opportunities and commence a feasibility study for production for Phase II. This year's program also includes a significant component to look for new discoveries on the belt, either by returning to grass roots targets, or targets where mineralization in familiar geological settings has already been identified. We believe that Hope Bay has the potential to enable Miramar to become a significant gold producer with the ounces we have discovered to date, but we also seek to demonstrate the opportunities for organic growth and resource replenishment on the belt in future years." More
- April 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Miramar Reports Indicated Resources of 5.2 Million Ounces of Gold and Inferred Resources of 5.4 Million Ounces at Hope Bay-an Increase of 22% - "During 2006, Miramar completed 65,775 metres of drilling in 233 drill holes on the property, one of the most ambitious single-project programs in Canada, and certainly one of the most successful in Company history. The key objective of this aggressive $30m program, which will continue at similar levels of drilling and expenditure in 2007, was to help determine the scope of a second phase of production (Phase II) after the proposed Doris North Project (Phase I)." More
- April 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Capstone Mining Closes Previously Announced Agreement to Sell Cozamin Silver Production to Silverstone Resources Corp. - More
- April 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Vena Resources Closes Over-Subscribed Private Placement - More
- April 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail
MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. Announces Completion of $800,000 Private Placement With Mineralfields Group - More
- April 04, 2007 |
Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold & Silver Rise Over 1%