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-- Posted Tuesday, 4 December 2007 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com

The Metals:

Gold fell to as low as $786.38 by late trade in Asia before it rallied back higher in London and rose to as high as $800.20 by midmorning in New York.  The yellow metal next dropped back down to $795.69, but it then rallied back higher in afternoon trade and made a new session high at $805.40 ahead of a $4.30 dollar retrace into the close that left it with a gain of 1.64%.  Silver dropped to $13.98 by late trade in Asia before it also meandered its way higher for most of the rest of trade and ended with a gain of 1.42%.

Euro gold rose to about €543, platinum gained $11 to $1466, palladium gained $1 to $346, and copper fell roughly 5 cents to about $3.00.

Gold and silver equities fell roughly 1% by late morning and remained near their lows into the close.

Weekly gold sales continue to slow, but ECB sales yet to be counted  Resource Investor

The Economy:

There were no major economic reports today.  Tomorrow at brings 8:30AM EST brings the ADP jobs report and 3^rd quarter Productivity expected at 5.8%.  At 10AM are Factory Orders for October expected at 0.0% and ISM Services for November expected at 55.0.

The Markets:

Charts Courtesy of http://finance.yahoo.com/

Oil fell as expectations tuned back to the view that OPEC will formally increase output at their meeting tomorrow.  Traders were also preparing for tomorrow’s inventory reports that are expected to show declines.

The U.S. dollar index fell overall despite a noticeable US Dollar rise against the Canadian Dollar as the Bank of Canada surprisingly cut interest rates for the first time in over three years on easing concerns about the pace of inflation.

Treasuries remained near unchanged in lackluster trade as there were no major economic reports or fed speakers making news today.

The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P traded mostly slightly lower and ended near their session lows on worries about the economy and what action the fed may take at their next meeting on December 11^th.

Among the big names making news in the market today were Dow Chemical, Florida’s pension fund, Merck, H&R Block, Goldman, Lehman, Merrill, JPMorgan, and AutoZone.

The Commentary:

“February Gold finished up 12.9 at 807.6, 3.6 off the high and 6.8 up from the low.

March Silver closed up 0.255 at 14.465. This was 0.085 up from the low and 0.095 off the high.

CBOT gold jumped more than $15 on Tuesday as the one-day South Africa miners strike along with a weaker dollar against the euro supported increased speculative buying and some short-covering. Weakness in the energy markets and weakness in the stock market left traders with a lack of alternative investments and this attracted a flow of funds to precious metals as well. Higher gold in the face of weaker energy markets and US economic concerns suggests that the link to these recent correlated markets may be weakening. Perhaps the stock weakness which was led by banking and financial stocks has made investors more inclined to hold metals for the time being. In addition, low yields for government bonds have added to the bullish tone.

March silver closed sharply higher on the session following the gold market higher as precious metals were seen as a hot spot for international investors. Weakness in the US dollar, the US stock market and low yields for the US bond market left commodity markets and precious metals attracting investment funds. The South Africa miner's 1-day strike and some signs of strength for the China economy were also seen as a bullish force. A slowdown in deliveries in the past few days added to the positive tone.”- The Hightower Report, Futures Analysis and Forecasting

GATA Posts:

Here come the currency devaluations to steady U.S. dollar

Gulf nations maintain dollar peg for currencies

GATA and many friends join Vancouver conference in January

Banks urge U.K. corporate clients to stop borrowing

The Statistics:

As of close of business: 12/3/2007

Global Gold ETF Holdings

[WGC Sponsored ETF’s]

Note: Change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data: The JSE added 1.10 tonnes.

COMEX Gold Trust (IAU)

Note: No change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data.

Silver Trust (SLV)

Note: No change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data.

The Stocks:

The one-day national strike in South Africa, Rob McEwen’s increased ownership in US Gold (UXG), Paramount’s (PXG) identified targets, Freeport’s (FCX) increase in dividend and share purchase program, Yamana’s (AUY) exploration, Minco Silver’s (MSV.TO) hydrogeological review report, Oro Silver’s (OSR.V) commenced drilling, and Silvercorp’s (SVM.TO) acquired mine were among the big stories in the gold and silver mining industry making headlines today.

WINNERS

LOSERS

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:

Rob McEwen Increases Ownership in US Gold to 21.5% - "US Gold Corporation (Toronto:UXG.TO - News)(AMEX:UXG - News)(Frankfurt:US8.F - News) is pleased to announce that Rob McEwen, Chairman and CEO, has increased his beneficial ownership in the Company to 21.5% (20,687,427 shares) from 19.8% (18,635,348 shares) through the exercise of Warrants of US Gold Canadian Acquisition Corporation. This additional investment in US Gold totals $3,903,107." More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Paramount Gold and Silver Identify Gold-Silver and Porphyry Copper Targets on its 86,300-Hectare Andrea Concession - "Paramount Gold Mining Corp. (Toronto:PZG.TO - News)(AMEX:PZG - News)(Frankfurt:P6G.F - News)(WKN: A0HGKQ) is pleased to announce that it has identified several encouraging targets during field follow-up of its detailed stream sediment sampling and imagery analysis programs on its wholly owned Andrea Concession. The 86,300 hectare Andrea concession covers most of the ground between Paramount's San Miguel Project and GoldCorp's El Sauzal gold mine in the Sierra Madre gold-silver belt." More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Announces Plans to Restart Climax Molybdenum Mine - More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Mokambo mine announces initial assay results - More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Molycor Gold Corp. Closes Financing With the Mineralfields Group - More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Andover Discovers New Hot Zone and Extends SUN Deposit 300 Meters to North in Third Round of 2007 Drill Results - More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Azimut summarizes 2007 progress and growth prospective - More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Nirek Extends Warrant Backed Gold Bullion Bar - More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Mexivada acquires Goldstorm Midas-style gold-silver property, Nevada - More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Pershimco Resources Inc.: Mexican Projects Update - More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Announces Increase in Common Stock Dividend to $1.75 per Share and New Share Purchase Program - "Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX - News) announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized an increase in its annual common stock dividend from $1.25 per share to $1.75 per share. The dividend will be payable quarterly ($0.4375 per share) beginning with the February 2008 dividend payment." More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Castle Gold Records Third Quarter Results; Q3 Cash Margin on Ounces Sold Rises to $522 Per Ounce - More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Titan 24 Deep Earth Imaging identifies large target areas - More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Canada gold miner takes aim in Chile desert - "Yamana Gold (YRI.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), a mid-tier Toronto miner, says it has at least four reasons to believe it can more than double output between now and 2012: El Penon, Chapada, Gualcamayo and Mercedes." More
- December 04, 2007 | Item | E-mail

Duluth Metals announces new drill results expanding the Nokomis Deposit - More
- December 04, 2007 |