Rally leaves golds behind

A strong rally in the U.S. markets over the report period Aug. 13-20 brought the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 4.6% and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 up 6%.

The Dow finished the period at 8,872.07 points, up 389.61, while the S&P 500 closed Aug. 20 at 937.43, a gain of 53.22 points.

Hopes for a brighter economic picture helped out the major base metal producers: Phelps Dodge was US9 better at US$31.84, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold was US1 higher at US$15.59, and Southern Peru Copper was US25 stronger at US$13.35.

The big internationals went two-for-three: BHP Billiton rose US52 to US$10.22 and Rio Tinto rose US$3.84 to US$68.98, but Anglo American was down US36 at US$11.87.

The period was true to the recent pattern in which the market moves one way and gold and gold stocks, another. Newmont Mining was down US$1.38 at US$25.60 and both the big South African houses were lower, with AngloGold off US89 at US$22.16 and Gold Fields US90 poorer at US$10.15.

The smaller precious metals producers were down as well, with Coeur d’Alene Mines shedding US16 to close at US$1.75 and Hecla Mining sliding US34 to US$3.24.

Bucking the trend in the precious metals was platinum and palladium producer Stillwater Mining, which was up US18 at US$8.43, still a far cry from its 52-week high of US$28.88.