The biggest story over the period was the revelation that Phelps Dodge and Cabot are being jointly investigated by American and European antitrust authorities for alleged price-fixing in the carbon black industry.
The Europeans are reviewing documents at Phelps Dodge’s Columbian Chemicals facilities in Europe and Cabot’s European headquarters in Suresnes, France. U.S. authorities have contacted personnel at Columbian Chemicals’ headquarters in Marietta, Ga., and Cabot’s Boston headquarters.
Phelps Dodge and Cabot say they’ll comply with the investigators and note that no charges have yet been filed against either company or any employees.
Phelps Dodge plummeted US$3.14 over the period to US$28.90 and was trading at US$26.72 at presstime. Cabot, the world’s largest producer of carbon-black, rose US$1.04 to US$25.67 but had dropped to US$24.17 at presstime.
The rest of the base metals sector was mixed: Anglo American slipped 12 to US$13.90; BHP Billiton was up 8 to US$10.78; Rio Tinto fell US$1.11 to US$77.80; Alcoa retreated 39 to US$22.54; Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold jumped $1.07 to US$13.75; CVRD rebounded another $1.56 to US$26.81 as it expressed interest in acquiring Brazilian power company AES Tiete; and OM Group dropped 33 to a multi-year low of US$4.56 as it bailed out of its Indonesian nickel-laterite joint venture with Toronto-listed Weda Bay Minerals.
The golds uniformly sagged during a quiet news week: Newmont Mining fell 62 to US$23.66; AngloGold was off 14 to US$28.48; Gold Fields dropped 29 to US$11.25; Durban Deep was down 24 to US$3.35; Harmony Gold sank $1.14 to US$14.61; and Ashanti Goldfields declined 42 to US$5.31.
The silver stocks fared no better: Coeur d’Alene Mines lost 15 to hit US$1.67; Hecla Mining gave back 36 to end at US$3.78; Apex Silver Mines fell 56 to US$14.28; and Silver Standard slipped 17 to US$4.14.
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