U.S. markets, Feb. 3-7

The S&P 500 Index posted the first weekly gain in a month, rising 0.81% to 1,797.02, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched 0.61% higher to close at 15,794.08. The U.S. Labor Department reported that the country’s unemployment rate hit 6.6% — a five-year low — although non-farm payrolls in January rose by just 113,000, short of the 185,000 expected. Some blamed the poor payrolls data on the cold weather. The Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index climbed 1.67% to 92.22, while the gold price advanced 1.7%, or US$21.20 per oz., to finish the trading week at US$1,267.10 per oz.

Royal Gold shares posted the largest jump in value, gaining US$5.61 to US$61.55 on no news. The precious metals royalty and streaming company — which has interests on 38 producing mines and 20 development projects — reported net income of $10.7 million, or 16¢ per share, on revenues of $52.8 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2014. This compared to net income of $27.2 million, or 42¢ per share, on revenue of $79.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2013. In a Jan. 30 press release, the company attributed the lower numbers in the quarter to 26% lower average metal prices and 11% lower production volume.

Compass Minerals International, the second-biggest gainer of the week, advanced US$5.08 to US$83.70 per share. Strong winter weather patterns in parts of Canada and the U.S. have driven up demand for its highway de-icing salt business.    

A US$4.11-per-share gain to US$73.01 for Randgold Resources marked the week’s third-largest value jump. On Feb. 3 the gold miner reported that it had hit its targets in 2013 and was poised for another production step-up in 2014. Gold production reached 910,373 oz. in 2013, up 15% from 2012, and Randgold said it expects production in 2014 will rise by 25% to 30% on the back of increasing grades at its Loulo–Gounkoto complex in Mali, improving recoveries and throughput at Tongon in Côte d’Ivoire and the first full-year contribution from its recently commissioned Kibali mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Total cash costs per ounce gold in 2013 were US$715, down 3% from 2012.

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