Unsteady Dow buoys gold

Fear of further interest rate hikes pushed the Dow Jones industrial average down 413.25 points, or 3.9%, to 10,304.84 for the report period ended Feb. 22, while gold edged up to US$305.60 per oz. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold producers responded well, with AngloGold gaining $1.31 to close at US$28. Newmont Mining climbed $1.06 to US$25.06. Beleaguered Ashanti Goldfields rose 75 to US$3 after securing an agreement with its lenders; the deal includes a US$100-million loan facility to complete the Geita project in Tanzania.

Battle Mountain Gold inched up 19 to close at US$2.50, while mid-sized Glamis Gold added 19 to close at US$2.44. South African-based Gold Fields picked up 15 to close at US$5.53, though Homestake Mining was off 25 to US$7.31. Also down was Peruvian-based Buenaventura, which dropped $1 to close at US$18.62.

In copper, Phelps Dodge fell $3.57 to US$52.12, though the red metal held firm at US83 per lb. on Comex. Class A shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold declined 56 to US$17.75, while Rio Tinto dropped $2.38 to close at US$67.50. Meanwhile, Southern Peru Copper lost 50 to US$15.12 and Australian major Broken Hill Proprietary dipped 57 to US$21.62.

American Stock Exchange-listed Stillwater Mining fell $3.81 to close at US$42.81, despite continued uncertainty in the palladium market. That uncertainty elevated the metal briefly above US$800 per oz.

Nasdaq-listed De Beers Consolidated Mines lost $2.75 to close US$24.81.