Latest Headlines

Search

-- Posted Thursday, 29 May 2008 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com

The Metals:

Gold rose slightly to $901.45 by late trade in Asia, but it then fell back off for most of trade in London and New York and ended about 0.5% off its low of $873.00 with a loss of 2.55%.  Silver rose over 1% to $17.56 by late trade in Asia, but it also fell off markedly in London and New York and ended near its low of $16.46 with a loss of 4.64%.

Euro gold fell to about €566, platinum lost $75 to $1989, and copper fell over 15 cents to about $3.57.

Gold and silver equities fell over 3% by early afternoon and remained near their lows into the close.

The Economy:

Tomorrow at 8:30AM EST brings Personal Income and Spending for April both expected at 0.2% and PCE Core Inflation expected at 0.1%.  At 9:45 is Chicago PMI for May expected at 48.5 and at 10AM is Michigan Sentiment for May expected at 59.5.

The Markets:

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

Oil bounced back from early lower prices after an astounding drop of 8.8 million barrels in oil inventories brought the price back near $133, but the cost per barrel soon fell back off and ended over $4 lower on the view that recent high prices are finally starting to cut into demand while the large decline was reportedly due to temporary delays along the Gulf Coast.  Total product demand was down slightly, jet fuel demand was down sharply, and gasoline demand was basically flat.  Gasoline inventories fell 3.2 million barrels, distillates rose 1.6 million barrels, and natural gas stocks rose 87 billion cubic feet.

The U.S. dollar index rose and treasuries fell after GDP did not come in lower than expected and did not have prior downward revisions.  This reduced worries about a recession and sent interest rates higher.  The yield on the 10-year note rose to its highest since December 2007.

The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P rose on reduced recession worries and optimism over lower energy prices in the future.

Among the big names making news in the market today were Bear Stearns and JPMorgan, Costco, Sears, Heinz, MasterCard, and Bristol-Myers and Kosan Biosciences.

The Commentary:

“A Note on Interest Rates and the Fed PR Discount Rate:

The talk about the Fed raising the discount rate can only be correct if Bernanke wishes to execute what little is left of business activity, the housing market and the terminally damaged credit market.

Long rates are a product of inflationary expectations and the position of the dollar. The only reason the 30 year bond has held its long term uptrend line is because there are no 30 years bonds in a practical sense making jiggering the market an easy task.”- Jim Sinclair, JSMineset.com

“June Gold finished down 23.3 at 877.2, 17.3 off the high and 4.2 up from the low.

July Silver closed down 0.9 at 16.515. This was 0.005 up from the low and 0.755 off the high.

The gold market had to be disappointed on a number of fronts on Thursday. In addition to the ongoing rise in the US Dollar, the gold bulls were also confronted with a sharp and somewhat surprising reversal in oil prices, strength in US equity prices and perhaps most importantly what appeared to be a wave of selling in a host of physical commodity markets. With the crude oil market falling by as much as $9 per barrel off its all time high during the session one could also suggest that inflationary fears were being downgraded. It is also possible that sharply lower oil prices, a firmer Dollar and strong equity prices served to mitigate the flight to quality interest in the gold market. Finally the gold market had to be very disappointed with the magnitude of the slide in the quasi industrial metals markets as that would suggest that both the financial and the physical commodity market angles were negative during the trading session.

The silver market fell pretty much in sync with the gold market and the outside market forces were certainly an additive pressure to prices. In fact, another quasi upside breakout in the Dollar Index really seemed to turn up the heat on a host of commodities that have routinely relied on a soft Dollar. In the end, a slight improvement in the US economic outlook off lower oil and higher equities seemed to be of little benefit to the silver trade!”- The Hightower Report, Futures Analysis and Forecasting

GATA Posts:

Debt markets again flash warnings

Banks launch central clearer for derivatives

The Statistics:

As of close of business: 5//2008

Global Gold ETF Holdings

[WGC Sponsored ETF’s]

Note: Change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data: The JSE added 0.12 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:

South Africa’s power shortage, Banro’s (BAA) drill results, Orezone’s (OZN) updated feasibility study, Golden Cycle’s (GCGC) merger with AngloGold (AU), Lihir’s (LIHR) merger with Equigold (EQI.AX), Royal Gold’s (RGLD) dividend, Arian’s (AGQ.V) private placement, Oro Silver’s (OSR.V) property purchase, and Silvermex’s (SMR.V) drilling program 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:

Goldeye Explorations Limited-Sonia Property, Chile - More
- May 29, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Callinan Amends Fox River Agreement - More
- May 29, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Renforth Resources Inc. Completes a $942,000 Private Placement-Board of Directors Applauds Lead Director for His Contribution as They Accept His Resignation - More
- May 29, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Timmins Gold Corp.: $19,300,000 Financing Arranged - More
- May 29, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Royal Gold Announces Third Quarter Dividend - "ROYAL GOLD, INC. (Nasdaq: RGLD - News; TSX: RGL - News), the leading precious metals royalty company, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared its second quarter dividend of $0.07 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on July 18, 2008 to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 3, 2008. The Company has paid dividends since 2000." More
- May 29, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Golden Cycle Gold Corporation Amends Merger Agreement With AngloGold Ashanti to Increase Merger Consideration and Plans for Special Meeting of Shareholders - "The special meeting of Golden Cycle shareholders, to consider, and vote upon, resolutions required to be approved to implement the Transaction, is planned to be convened June 30, 2008. The meeting will be held at the Elks Lodge, 367 North 3rd Street, Victor, Colorado at 10:00 a.m. local time. Should Golden Cycle shareholders approve these resolutions at the special meeting, the Transaction will then be implemented." More
- May 29, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Jasper Mining Corporation announces further high grade molybdenum results from four more holes on McFarlane property - More
- May 29, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Golden Goose reports a new 43-101 resource estimate for its Magino gold property - More
- May 29, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Hawk Disposes of Gila County, Arizona Uranium Claims - More
- May 29, 2008 | Item | E-mail