Dow charges, leaves gold behind

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 369.94 points, or 3.5%, during the report period Aug. 2-8 to close at 10,976.89 on reeports that inflation remains in check.

Spot gold on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange drifted down to US$272.80 per oz., sending most producers lower. Homestake Mining hit a new low of US$5.31, down 19, while shares of Newmont Mining were off 25 to US$17.69. Nasdaq-listed Gold Fields lost 37 to close at US$3.19, while fellow South African Harmony Gold Mining dipped 35 to US$4.84; Randgold shed 44 to US$3.06, but Ashanti Goldfields bucked the trend, climbing 12 to US$2.81. The latter celebrated the opening of its 50%-owned Geita mine in Tanzania.

Silver continued to suffer below US$5 per oz., sending Coeur d’Alene Mines to its third consecutive new low of US$1.25, but rebounded to close at US$1.38. American Stock Exchange-listed Apex Silver Mines lost 93 to close at US$9.19.

Copper prices are holding steady at US86 per lb., helping to push Phelps Dodge up $1 to US$44.19. Class B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold slipped 25 to US$8.75, though The Broken Hill Proprietary picked up 75 to close at US$21.81.

Rio Tinto edged up $1.87 to US$67.56 after securing its bid for iron-ore producer North Ltd. De Beers Consolidated Mines gained $1.56 to US$24.81, as the market came around to accept its bid for Ashton Mining of Australia. Stillwater Mining rose $1.37 to US$30.25 amid continued fluctuations in the palladium market.