-- Posted Tuesday, 5 June 2007 | Digg This Article
| Close | Gain/Loss |
Gold | $669.70 | -$1.10 |
Silver | $13.74 | +$0.10 |
XAU | 140.44 | -1.05% |
HUI | 339.99 | -0.74% |
GDM | 1077.99 | -0.98% |
JSE Gold | 2734.91 | -0.21% |
USD | 81.90 | -0.14 |
Euro | 135.24 | +0.39 |
Yen | 82.42 | +0.33 |
Oil | $65.61 | -$0.60 |
10-Year | 4.976% | +0.047 |
T-Bond | 108.4375 | -0.50 |
Dow | 13595.46 | -0.59% |
Nasdaq | 2611.23 | -0.27% |
S&P | 1530.95 | -0.53% |
The Metals:
Gold traded mostly slightly higher in Asia and London and rose over $673 in early New York trade, but it then sold off about $4 between 9AM and 10AM EST, remained near its lows for most of the rest of trade, and ended with a loss of 0.16%. Silver held strong despite gold’s weakness and rose near $13.80 in late morning trade before it fell back off slightly in early afternoon trade, but it still ended with a gain of 0.73%.
Central bank selling of gold and especially Spain’s recent selling grabbed the headlines as it does most Tuesdays, and as usual Blanchard’s Neal Ryan gave us some terrific analysis of it in his note this morning available here. Of particular note is the unprecedented cumulative ECB selling of a massive 170 tonnes in the past 3 months, with 108 tonnes of that selling coming from Spain. Gold sales anywhere near this amount in such a short period of time have crushed the gold price in the past, though gold has traded mostly sideways over this last bout of selling. The question that remains is that when this selling stops or slows, then what will happen to the gold price then? If demand remains anywhere near recent levels and price action echoes that of times past, then certainly the price of gold and all things precious appear to be headed higher soon.
Euro gold fell near €495, platinum lost $3 to $1,299, palladium lost $3 to $371, and copper fell over 5 cents to about $3.31.
Gold and silver equities fell nearly 1.5% by early afternoon, but they then rebounded slightly in the last hour of trade and ended with about 1% losses.
The Economy:
Report | For | Reading | Expected | Previous |
ISM Services | May | 59.7 | 55.5 | 56.0 |
Also making economic news today were some comments from Bernanke at a monetary policy conference in Cape Town, South Africa about weakness in the housing sector and inflation risks that appear to be moderating, but remain the predominant concern for the fed.
Tomorrow at 8:30AM EST brings the revised reading for 1st quarter Productivity expected at 1.0%.
The Markets:
Charts Courtesy of http://finance.yahoo.com/
Oil fell as worries eased over tropical cyclone Gonu that is threatening the Persian Gulf but appears to be weakening and headed inland over Iran rather than disrupt operations in the gulf.
The U.S. dollar index fell after Bernanke warned that the slump in the housing market is ongoing, but it did pare its losses after ISM Services came in better than expected and pushed interest rates to new 9 month highs as treasuries fell.
The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P fell as treasury yields neared 5% and Bernanke reiterated his warning that the housing slump “appears likely to remain a drag on economic growth for somewhat longer than previously expected.”
Among the big names making news in the market today were Ryanair, Avaya and Silver Lake Partners and TPG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Moody’s.
The Commentary:
“August Gold finished down 1.2 at 675.1, 3.7 off the high and 0.7 up from the low.
July Silver closed up 0.067 at 13.812. This was 0.072 up from the low and 0.058 off the high.
The gold market found some support early today on outside market influences like a weaker dollar and softer stock market, but it sold off as the dollar recovered. Overnight it was reported that the Bank of Spain sold close to $1 million in gold reserves during the month of May and that ECB gold and gold receivables fell by 29 million Euros for the week ending June 1st. While that news was dismissed early in the face of a sharply lower dollar, it seemed to become more prominent once the Dollar bounced off of its lows by mid-session. The dollar had fallen earlier after the Fed chairman said he expected the US economy to continue to be dragged down by the housing sector. The Dollar eventually traded to its lowest level since May 16th, but by afternoon it was trading 1.70 off the lows of the day. Crude oil gave back some of its gains from Monday, which also added pressure to gold, while declines in US equity markets lent some support.
July silver held its own against declining gold prices today, trading to its highest level since late April despite weaker copper prices and mixed economic news. Apparently the recent announcement by Mexico that it would regain the title of the world's largest silver producing country in 2007 did not scare the market. The Fed Chairman's comments this morning that sent the dollar sharply lower may have actually undermined silver, as it put some doubt on US economic health and on the industrial demand outlook for silver. While a better than expected Consumer Confidence number may have countervailed the Fed comments and lent some support to silver, it did little to support the stock market, which was still trading sharply lower by mid-afternoon.” - The Hightower Report, Futures Analysis and Forecasting
GATA Posts:
Neal Ryan: Gold thrives despite three months of record bank sales
James Grant: Gold joins the mainstream
Michael Kosares: Turning point?
James Turk: Measured in gold, stock market gains are illusory
GATA sympathizers invited to lunch in Canberra on June 11
To curb inflation, Syria ends dollar peg
The Statistics:
As of close of business: 6/04/2007
Gold Warehouse Stocks: | 7,633,132 | - |
Silver Warehouse Stocks: | 130,368,616 | - 128,543 |
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 | 477.77 | 15,360,769 | US$ 10,305m |
London Stock Exchange (LSE) AND Euronext Paris AND Borsa Italiana AND Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (Deutsche Börse ) | Gold Bullion Securities | 90.81 | 2,919,772 | US$ 1,956m |
Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) | Gold Bullion Securities | 11.99 | 385,356 | US$ 258m |
Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) | New Gold Debentures | 12.82 | 412,069 | US$ 274m |
Note: No change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data.
COMEX Gold Trust (IAU)
Profile as of 6/4/2007 | |
Total Net Assets | $989,999,992 | Ounces of Gold
in Trust | 1,476,134.274 |
Shares Outstanding | 14,900,000 | Tonnes of Gold
in Trust | 45.91 |
Note: No change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data.
Silver Trust (SLV)
Profile as of 6/4/2007 | |
Total Net Assets | $1,869,414,568 | Ounces of Silver
in Trust | 136,760,402.300 |
Shares Outstanding | 13,750,000 | Tonnes of Silver
in Trust | 4,253.72 |
Note: Change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data: 29.19 tonnes were added to the trust.
The Stocks:
Rio Narcea’s (RNO) drill results, NovaGold’s (NG) Galore Creek Construction start, Tanzanian Royalty’s (TRE) exclusivity agreement, U.S. Silver’s (USA.V) new 43-101 report, SNS Silver’s (SNS.V) increased private placement, Coeur’s (CDE) construction work, Aura Silver’s (AUU.V) project update, Fury’s (FUR.V) assay results, Silver Standard’s (SSRI) vice president of operations appointment, and an update on the Navidad Litigation involving Aquiline (AQI.TO) and IMA Exploration (IMR) were among the big stories in the gold and silver mining industry making headlines today.
WINNERS
1. IMA Exploration | IMR +49.32% $1.09 |
2. Exeter | XRA +3.79% $3.01 |
3. Allied Nevada | ANV +3.48% $4.46 |
LOSERS
1. Rubicon | RBY -5.68% $1.66 |
2. Gammon Lake | GRS-3.15% $13.85 |
3. Endeavour | EXK -2.62% $5.21 |
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:
Cusac Commences Oro Vein Drilling, Acquires New Taurus Area Claims - More
- June 05, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Latin American Minerals Inc. Announces Stock Option Grants - More
- June 05, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Golden Goose Resources Inc. - Annual meeting of shareholders and grant of stock options - More
- June 05, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Eaglecrest Hits Highest Grade Bulk Sample to Date: 11.7 Metres of 10.0 Grams Per Tonne Gold - More
- June 05, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Romios Confirms That it Abandoned Merger With Copper Canyon Resources Ltd. - More
- June 05, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Vena Resources Intersects High-Grade Zinc plus Gold Zone in Azulcocha - More
- June 05, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Goldeye/Polar Chip Samples From the Condor Vein Return 8.11 g/t Au and 20.0 g/t Ag Over 1 m. - More
- June 05, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Mirasol Resources Ltd. - Correction of Private Placement Disclosure - More
- June 05, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Wildcat Initiates Summer Exploration Programs - More
- June 05, 2007 | Item | E-mail
New Guinea Gold Corporation: First Gold Pour at Sinivit Delayed Several Weeks - More
- June 05, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Freewest Options Lizar Gold-Based Metal Property in Northwestern Ontario to Noront - More
- June 05, 2007 | Item | E-mail
Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold and Silver End Mixed as Spain Announces More Past Gold Sales