Gold rebounds before holidays

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed a modest 40.37 points, or 0.4%, to 11,200.54 during the report period ended Dec. 21.

Gold responded to interest rate jitters, climbing $6.90 to US$286.90 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Mining companies regained some of the momentum that they had lost in recent weeks, including Anglogold, which gained $2.06 to reach US$25.81. Also stronger were: Newmont Mining, which added $1.81 to close at US$24.25; Homestake Mining, which rose 76 to US$8.38; Ashanti Goldfields, which edged up 26 to US$2.88; and mid-sized Meridian Gold, which advanced 87 to US$6.62.

Meanwhile, Nasdaq-listed Harmony Gold Mines rose 69 to US$6.50 and Battle Mountain Gold gained 19 to close at US$2.31.

Copper miners were up as Comex spot prices rose to US82 per lb.; Broken Hill Proprietary was up $3.06 to US$25.56, also benefiting from positive earnings; Phelps Dodge added $2.75 to close at US$58.19; Southern Peru Copper gained 44 to close at US$14.69; and Class A and B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold rose 82 and $1.19, respectively, to close at US$14.38 and US$17.

Rio Tinto jumped $10 to US$89.25. The only news out of the company was that it had sold an 80% interest in the Sepon copper-gold project in Laos.

De Beers Consolidated Mines posted a new high, gaining $1.37 to close at US$30.06. Stillwater Mining added $1.62 to US$29 on further strength in platinum group metals.

Silver miner Coeur d’Alene Mines slumped to a new low of US$3.31, down 19, while Sunshine Mining & Refining slipped another 6 to a new low of US$1.25.