The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 53.54 points, or 0.5%, during the report period ended April 20 to close at 10,448.55, as strong commodity prices lit a fire under resource companies. Miners rocketed forward as copper continued the rally started last week and gold held steady.
Copper prices climbed to US68 cents per lb., briefly touching US70 cents during the week, catapulting New York Stock Exchange-listed Phelps Dodge up $9.50 to close at US$59.94. The next biggest gainer for the week was London-based Rio Tinto, which benefited from improvements in copper and gold. The U.K.-based miner rose US$6.56 to US$54.56.
Broken Hill Proprietary jumped $3.06 to US$21.12, amid rumours it was planning to sell its American copper assets.
Class A and B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold each advanced $2.25 to close at US$12.75 and US$13.56, respectively.
Asarco picked up $2.56 to finish the week at US$16.50, while Southern Peru Copper added $2.57 to US$13.38.
Gold on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed to US$284.40 per oz. American Stock Exchange-listed Getchell Gold leapt $3.25 to US$29.75. Newmont Mining gained $2.87 to US$21.56, with 10 million shares trading hands.
South Africa’s Anglogold picked up US$2.50 to close at US$22.81, while base metal-producer Minorco gained $3.75 to US$24.25 after announcing a takeover of Reunion Mining.
DeBeers Consolidated Mines rose $2.06 to US$22.75, while Stillwater Mining gained 88 cents to close at US$28.94.
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