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-- Posted Tuesday, 10 June 2008 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com

The Metals:

Gold steadily fell throughout most of world trade and ended about 0.5% off its low of $863.95 with a loss of 2.99%.  Silver dropped under $17.00 by late trade in Asia before it rose to within a penny of unchanged at $17.18 by early trade in New York, but it then fell back off for most of the rest of trade and ended about 0.5% off its low of $16.48 with a loss of 3.61%.

Euro gold fell to about €562, platinum lost $46 to $1996.50, and copper fell over 5 cents to about $3.56.

Gold and silver equities dropped for most of the session and ended with over 4% losses.

The Economy:

Tomorrow at 2PM EST brings the fed’s Beige Book and the Treasury Budget for May.

The Markets:

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

Oil eventually fell over 2% after Saudi Arabia announced a 500,000 a barrel a day increase in daily output to 9.45 million barrels and the IEA and EIA trimmed their demand figures.  The Nymex also announced margin requirement increases as traders prepared for tomorrow’s inventory reports.

The U.S. dollar index rose and treasuries fell again on seemingly endless jawboning from government and fed officials about inflation, yet there still have not been any real steps taken towards an actual change in policy that would do anything to actually combat inflation or help the dollar.  I continue to watch what they do and not what they say.  What they say is mostly worthless while what they did is release the highest trade deficit in 13 months today.  How that can be construed as dollar positive is beyond this observer.

The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P traded mixed and near unchanged as optimism over lower energy prices battled expectations for high inflation and a weak economy.

Among the big names making news in the market today were XTO Energy and Hunt Petroleum.

The Commentary:

“Dear CIGAs,

The euro is down hard today on the premise that this is the start of increased interest rates in the US, a statement that is totally ludicrous.

There are two possibilities here:

Bernanke and Trichet are in the midst of a pissing contest with the US Fed not paying any attention to the financial hell they are about to release.

Saving face at the Fed is more important than the cost thereof.

There is only one result possible:

Any nitwit knows what happens if you increase the Discount Rate when business is accelerating its downturn.

Now what happens if the Fed does not increase rates?

Bernanke has painted himself into quite the corner.

There is absolutely no possibility on earth that the Fed can start a series of increases as that will end the financial world, not as we know it, but totally.

Gold is a fishing line today. Friday it was a Rhino Horn.”- Jim Sinclair, JSMineset.com

“August Gold finished down 26.9 at 871.2, 19.8 off the high and 3.7 up from the low.

July Silver closed down 0.575 at 16.635. This was 0.135 up from the low and 0.545 off the high.

The classic gold bulls had to have a sinking feeling early in the trade today as a potentially disconcerting US Trade Deficit reading and initial strength in oil prices could have prompted an extension of the recent strength in gold prices. However, with the gold market apparently focusing intensely on the surging US Dollar it was clear that a number of physical commodities that have been consistently supported by a weak Dollar were set to see some concentrated liquidation pressure. With the added trauma of a sharp slide in oil prices and general weakness in the US equity market, the gold market seemed to get something negative from a number of different outside market angles.

The silver market also saw outside market forces applying pressure to prices on Tuesday, with the trade initially falling under the weight of the Dollar rise, but eventually it appeared that both technical and fundamental forces were working on the market. With the Dollar returning to the vicinity of the last 3 1/2 month highs in the Dollar, the rest of the metals markets down hard and even oil prices under intense pressure, one almost got the impression that silver and other markets were buying into the stagflation argument. Some suggested that a sharp slide in oil prices was seen as an event that reduced flight to quality interest in all the precious metals markets.”- The Hightower Report, Futures Analysis and Forecasting

GATA Posts:

NY Fed tries to make sense of credit derivatives market

Bush and Paulson try talking the dollar up

Scotiabank brings Shanghai the Year of the Golden Derivatives

The Statistics:

As of close of business: 6/7/2008

Global Gold ETF Holdings

[WGC Sponsored ETF’s]

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

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:

ITH’s (THM) acquisition, Paramount’s (PZG) assay results, IAMGOLD’s (IAG) resolved work stoppage, NovaGold’s (NG) feasibility study, Great Basin’s (GBN) mine production, Equigold’s (EQI.AX) closed out hedging, First Majestic’s (FR.TO) mine expansion, SNS Silver’s (SNS.V) appointment, Coeur’s (CDE) feasibility study, U.S. Silver’s (USA.V) increased production, Aquiline’s (AQI.TO) appointment, Valencia’s (VVI.V) appointment, and Apogee’s (APE.V) drill results 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:

Golden Share Arranges a $500,000 Financing - More
- June 10, 2008 | Item | E-mail

NQ Exploration Inc.: The 2008 Exploration Program in the James Bay Territory, Quebec Begins - More
- June 10, 2008 | Item | E-mail

StrataGold updates gold resource at Tassawini, Guyana - More
- June 10, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Gold Canyon Starts Summer Program at Horseshoe Island Project - More
- June 10, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Nevoro Acquires Aurora Platinum Exploration - More
- June 10, 2008 | Item | E-mail

NovaGold says Donlin could yield 1.5 mln oz a year - "NovaGold (NG.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday its Donlin Creek gold project in Alaska could yield up to 1.5 million ounces of gold a year and that a feasibility study should be ready and approved by the first quarter of 2009." More
- June 10, 2008 | Item | E-mail

ITH Acquires 100% Interest in the Terra and LMS Projects, Alaska from AngloGold Ashanti Exploration (U.S.A.) Inc. - "International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or the "Company") (CDNX:ITH.V - News)(AMEX:THM - News)(Frankfurt:IW9.F - News) is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the interest of AngloGold Ashanti Exploration (U.S.A.) Inc. ("AngloGold") in the Terra and LMS projects in Alaska, plus certain other AngloGold rights, in consideration of the issuance of 450,000 shares of ITH to AngloGold. Based on the current ITH share price, this equates to an acquisition price of approximately $6 per ounce of current inferred gold resource." More
- June 10, 2008 | Item | E-mail

SAfrica urged to open power sector to private firms - "South Africa must embrace private sector involvement in the electricity sector if it wants to solve a power crisis that threatens to derail its growing economy, a top business group said on Tuesday." More
- June 10, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Mokambo receives EIA approval to mine and process oxides - More
- June 10, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Gabriel Resources Ltd.: Jonathan Weisstub Appointed as Vice-President, Corporate Affairs - More
- June 10, 2008 |