Gold closes just shy of US$400 per oz.

Toronto Venture Exchange-listed companies failed to gain ground in spite of gold prices being up for the second consecutive week, ahead of a key decision on an interest rate hike in the U.S. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange index closed lower by nearly 18 points, or about 1%, over our trading period of Aug. 4-9 to close at 1493.68.

The spot price of gold tacked on another US$6.40 per oz. over the period, adding to the US$6 gain of the previous week, or another 1.5% as it ended the period at US$399.80 per oz. in New York (spot). It got a boost from fears of impending interest-rate increases that sent its dollar higher on the overseas market despite weak jobs numbers from the U.S.

Silver continued its march upward, closing 1.8% higher from the previous week to US$6.76 per oz. Copper was trading a shade lower, down 4, to $1.28 per lb. Platinum and palladium stayed about even at US$832 and US$214 per oz., respectively, from the week-earlier period.

New 52-week lows outnumbered new 52-week highs by almost 8 to 1, which is an improvement over the previous period. Seventy-nine companies saw new 52-week lows, compared with 10 reaching new highs. That’s double the number of companies that reached new highs over the week-ago period, while the exact same number sank to new lows.

Topping the volume leaders this week was Spider Resources, with more than 2.2 million shares trading hands. The company’s shares managed a penny increase to close at 11.5 by the market close on Aug. 9. Spider just closed a $500,000 flow-through private-placement financing that will see the company through its drilling and exploration programs at the McFauld’s Lake volcanogenic massive-sulphide deposit and the MacFadyen diamond project in Ontario.

Stikine Gold gave back some ground during the period and closed down 3, to 40, on a volume of 1.3 million shares. During the previous week, the shares rose 35% after the company highlighted the increased potential for a deeper Sullivan-type lead-zinc deposit on its property in southeastern British Columbia once it had hit the important marker horizon at depth.

Initial results from International Kirkland Minerals‘ Xuefeng gold property, in China’s Hunan province, placed the company third on the list of volume leaders, with 1.2 million shares trading hands. Recent independent surface sampling collected two grab samples, which returned 206.68 and 444.28 grams gold per tonne. The company is focusing on the potential of some of the individual silicified zones to support stand-alone mining operations. Shares were off 2.5 to close at 39.5.

Featured on the percentage gainers list, with a 72% rise in its share price, was Boxxer Gold. The junior acquired an additional 100% interest in four patented lode mining claims to build on its Boss property land position in the Goodsprings mining district of Nevada.

Carpathian Gold, which until June was known as Ore Leave Resources, closed at 12, giving up 38% after confirming results from a series of high-grade gold veins on the Varatec mine site project in the Baia Mare mining district of northern Romania. Mag Silver closed 29% lower to 58 after announcing it had completed an option agreement with Lagartos whereby Lagartos can acquire the Cinco de Mayo property in Mexico.

Shore Gold traded more than 1 million shares over the period as investor interest continued from a diamond find, though it gave back 10 to close at $1.90 after posting a 43% gain a week earlier. The company recently recovered a whopping 19.7-carat stone from bulk sampling on its Star Diamond project in the Fort a la Corne area of Saskatchewan.