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-- Posted Tuesday, 1 July 2008 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com

The Metals:

Gold fell a few dollars to $921.72 in Asia, but it then rose to about $930 in London and accelerated its gains in New York to climb to as high as $945.95 and end with a gain of 1.78%.  Silver dropped slightly to $17.36 in Asia, but it also rose rather impressively in London and New York and ended near its high of $18.192 with a gain of 4.13%.

Euro gold rose to over €596, platinum gained $9 to $2073.50, and copper gained a few cents to about $3.92.

Gold and silver equities rose roughly 2% by late morning and remained near their highs into the close.

The Economy:

Tomorrow at 8:15AM EST is the ADP Employment report for June expected at -20,000 and at 10AM is the Factory Orders report for May expected at 0.5%.

The Markets:

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

Oil rose on IEA reports of minimal excess capacity as ABC News reported that “Pentagon officials are concerned that Israel could carry out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities before the end of the year.”  Late news about a worker strike in Venezuela may have an impact on prices tomorrow as traders watch inventory reports.

The U.S. dollar index fell despite better than expected economic data as the yen rose on risk aversion and banking worries that kept traders away from the greenback.

Treasuries rose as the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P fell in morning trade, but all three indices then turned higher in afternoon trade after General Motors reported that sales fell only 18.2% in comparison to Toyota’s 21.4% drop and bonds turned back lower by the close.

Among the big names making news in the market today were CIT, Constellation Brands, and Bank of America and Countrywide.

The Commentary:

“Dear Friends,

There are two subjects of extreme importance today.

I sent you an email months ago saying, “This Is It.”

1. I am now telling you, “It Is Now.”

Gold is preparing for an assault not on $1000, but for a brief penetration of $1200.
Violent chopping will occur, then off it goes to $1650.

This violent chop we have been living in here and now will resolve itself very soon and the take will be seen by history as having occurred in this last formation HERE AND NOW.

2. Where your juniors are concerned please give equal attention to the fundamentals before you make any decision. When beaten down, as they have been, think about gold at $1200 and $1650 coming sooner than anyone expected.

Call the company and respectfully demand to speak to management, not an IR officer. If management is in the country but will not speak to you, put that in the debit column. Allow time for a call back as many other investor may be doing the same thing.
 
The questions are simple. Property, finances and costs are the subjects you approach.

As an example, a high cost mining company in Ghana just experienced an increased production cost per ounce of gold as a byproduct of increased electrical costs in the country. Before you push the panic button the question to the company is “What are your total costs per ounce, not cash cost?” Once you have that answer think about gold at $1650.

I will discuss the “why” of all this on www.JSMineset.com this evening.”- Jim Sinclair, JSMineset.com

“August Gold finished up 16.2 at 944.5, 4 off the high and 12 up from the low.

July Silver closed up 0.78 at 18.2. This was 0.42 up from the low and equal to the high.

August gold extended its range up today and traded to its highest level since April 18th after breaking out above the consolidation pattern from late May. The market found support from a weaker stock market and softer dollar, as investors turn to gold and other precious metals as an alternative. Reports this morning that the European Central Bank had completed its gold sales for the year also lent support.

July silver traded to new highs for the move today, although it lagged gold's moves on the charts because it failed to take out the May highs. Like gold, silver is gaining off of its increased popularity as an investment vehicle in the face of inflation, the weaker dollar and an anemic stock market. The market also found support from the miners strike in Peru, which is the world's largest silver producer and the world's second largest producer of copper (in 2007).”- The Hightower Report, Futures Analysis and Forecasting

GATA Posts:

ECB is done selling gold through September

John Embry: Gold will recover stronger and faster than ever

The Statistics:

As of close of business: 6/30/2008

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:

Peru’s mining strike, AngloGold’s (AU) finalized acquisition of Golden Cycle Gold and sold 50% stake in Nufcor, Peter Zihlmann’s free new stock report on SilverCrest at http://www.goldreview.com/news/ZihlmannInvest/1214938582.php, and Burkina Faso’s opened gold mine were among the big stories in the gold and silver mining industry making headlines today, but news was slow with Canadian markets closed for Canada Day.

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:

Peru mining strike goes into second day - "A mining strike in Peru entered its second day on Tuesday, affecting production at some mines, while workers at others reported for duty and said they were still deciding whether or not to join the nationwide walkout." More
- July 01, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Burkina Faso opens its third gold mine in a year - "Burkina Faso has formally opened its third gold mine in a year, the open-cast Mana facility operated by Toronto-listed SEMAFO (SMF.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

The Mana mine, inaugurated on Monday 270 km (170 miles) northwest of the capital Ouagadougou, expects to produce 3.6 tonnes of gold per year, local mining officials said." More
- July 01, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Santa Fe Gold Closes Purchase of Crushing Equipment and Real Property at Summit Silver-Gold Project - More
- July 01, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Wave Uranium Completes Mapping of Geologic Structures on Grand County Properties - More
- July 01, 2008 | Item | E-mail

Klondike Star Releases Scoping Study for Lone Star Gold Project - More
- July 01, 2008 | Item | E-mail

FirstRand, AngloGold sell uranium firm to Constellation - More
- July 01, 2008 | Item | E-mail

U.S. Precious Metals Releases Gold and Silver Results From Independent Assayer - More
- July 01, 2008 | Item | E-mail

AngloGold says sells stake to Constellation - "South Africa's AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (ANGJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday it had sold its 50 percent stake in Nufcor International to U.S.-based utility Constellation Energy Group." More
- July 01, 2008 | Item | E-mail