Gold bugs were delighted over the holiday-shortened report period as prices for the yellow metal surged more than US$7 to a new, 6-year high of almost US$360 per oz.
Gold has been on a steady march upwards since early December, powered by a weakening U.S. dollar and strong physical demand in Asia and the Middle East. Even more encouraging is that any attack on gold in New York trading is now being quickly followed up by buying and a price recovery.
The gold miners were all up: Newmont Mining jumped 64 to US$27.89 amid speculation it would proceed with a new project in Ghana; AngloGold rose 40 to US$34.62; Gold Fields advanced 39 to US$13.75; Harmony Gold added 14 to hit US$16.20; Freeport-McMoRan moved ahead 65 to US$17.63; and Ashanti Goldfields shot up 22 to US$6.19.
The silver companies, however, failed to catch the gold wave: Coeur d’Alene Mines slipped 9 to US$1.77, while Apex Silver Mines declined 7 to US$15. Hecla Mining fell 7 to US$4.53 after trading as high as US$5.72 earlier in January, just before announcing a public offering of 22 million shares priced at only US$4.25 apiece.
Brazilian iron-ore giant CVRD fell $1.81 to US$26.79 as it announced a US$1.8- billion capital expenditure program for 2003, including US$1.1 billion for ongoing projects such as the Sossego copper project, and US$72 million for exploration.
The rest of the big miners were down too, despite strength in metal prices: Anglo American was off 24 to US$14.78; BHP Billiton slipped 41 to US$11.13; Rio Tinto tumbled $4.43 to close at US$77.67; Phelps Dodge fell 15 to US$35.35; and Alcoa retreated $2.02 to US$21.14. OM Group bucked the trend by rebounding another 54 to US$9.84.
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