The Dow Jones industrial average came off its high with four consecutive days of losses amid further fears about interest rates. The market was down 454.02 points, or 4%, to close at 10,829.28 for the report period ended Sept. 1.
Metal prices edged upward, though producers were mixed. Gold, on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, climbed out of the cellar, gaining more than $3 to finish the week at US$256.70. South Africa’s Anglogold picked up $1 as a result, closing at US$25.88. Likewise, Ashanti Goldfields added 37 cents to close at US$7.25. Newmont Mining, however, lost 94 cents to close at US$20.44 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Battle Mountain Gold slid 6 cents to a new low of US$1.75.
Copper prices topped US78 cents per lb. on Comex, though most producers fell. Phelps Dodge plunged $3.87 to $55.94; Asarco slipped $1.75 to close at US$20.88; and Cyprus Amax Minerals sank 87 cents to finish at US$16.94. The three are in the midst of a struggle for dominance in the copper sector.
Class A and B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold lost $1.50 and $1.19 to close at US$14.38 and US$16.06, respectively. Broken Hill Proprietary dropped $1.88 to close at US$21.62.
Silver issues showed strength despite weakness in the market. American Stock Exchange-listed Apex Silver Mines climbed 26 cents to US$12.88 in anticipation of a final feasibility study for the San Cristobal project in Bolivia. At the same time, Peru’s silver miner, Buenaventura, gained 26 cents to close at US$15.38.
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