Gold loses lustre in slow market

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 72.15 points, or 0.65%, during the report period ended Aug. 22. It closed at 11,139.15, spurred on by news the U.S. Federal Reserve would not increase interest rates.

However, that news had a negative effect on gold, which slipped to US$273.50 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Newmont Mining shed 93 to close at US$17.69 on moderate trading on the New York Stock Exchange; American Depository Receipts (ADRs) for AngloGold dipped 69 to US$19.56; South Africa’s Harmony Gold Mining lost 41 to close at US$5 per share; and Ghana’s Ashanti Goldfields picked up 12 to close at US$2.56. Meanwhile, mid-sized Glamis Gold slid 13 to US$1.56.

In copper, Phelps Dodge fell $3 per share to close at US$41.06, while the red metal hung in at US86 per lb. on the Comex. Class B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold lost 37 to close at US$8.75, though Southern Peru Copper gained 81 to close at US$13.31.

ADRs for Anglo American jumped $2.81 on the Nasdaq to US$56.75, while Australia’s WMC advanced 31 to US$18.75. American Stock Exchange- listed Stillwater Mining bounced up $1.37 to US$30.75 as the platinum-palladium market continued to show signs of uncertainty over Russian shipments. Coeur d’Alene Mines shed 18 to US$1.38.

Among the juniors, Royal Gold tacked on 13 to climb to US$3.36 per share, while Canyon Resources added 7 to US88 after posting positive test results for the troubled McDonald gold project in Montana.