STOCK MARKETS — A short week and a slow one on Bay Street — Golds and base metals show signs of weakness in a quiet market

The Toronto Stock Exchange traded in a narrow range over the report period Aug. 27-Sept. 2, with its bellwether index finishing not far from where it started. The TSE 300 composite index closed Sept. 2 at 6,673.25, for a drop of 24.66 points, or 0.4%, from Aug. 26. Trading volumes were relatively light around the Labour Day holiday.

The Canadian dollar rose 45 basis points against the U.S. dollar, trading at 72.30 cents at noon on Sept. 3. The loonie was also strong against the European currencies. Support fell from under the Japanese yen, which reached a 2-year low against the U.S. dollar.

On the morning of Sept. 3, gold was down $3.30 for a London fixing price of US$322 per oz. Silver dropped 3 cents to US$4.63 per oz., while the platinum group metals were mixed, with platinum up $2.50 to US$407.50 per oz. and palladium off $6 to US$188 per oz.

The market, which has been known to react to fluctuations in the gold price, let the TSE’s gold and precious metals sub-group slide 264.34, or 3.1%, to close at 8,151.17. The volume champion was Kinross Gold, which entered the shedding season 10 cents lower at $6, with 3.2 million shares moving. TVX Gold was also on the active list, falling 20 cents to $7.15. Barrick Gold was down $1.35 at $31.35, and Placer Dome finished 95 cents lower at $23.05, while Viceroy Resources made a rare appearance on the active list, falling 25 cents to $3.25.

Always sensitive to the bullion price, royalty holder Euro-Nevada Mining dropped $1.15 to $20.45, while sister company Franco-Nevada Mining dropped 75 cents to $33.00.

London Metal Exchange prices were generally lower, with copper off 3 cents at US97 cents per lb., and zinc 1 cents lower at US76 cents. Lead was unchanged while nickel rose 4 cents to US$2.97.

The TSE metals and minerals sub-group fared little better than the golds, losing 2.5% of value, or 130.70 points, to close at 4,969.65 on Sept. 2. The most active issue in the sub-group was nickel giant Inco, which declined $1.20 to $37.85 on a volume of 3.7 million shares. Crosstown rival Falconbridge was much more lightly traded, and slid 80 cents to $25.65 even as the nickel price was recovering.

Zinc producers also suffered, with Noranda down 70 cents to $27.25, Cominco $1.50 to $36.50, and Aur Resources 25 cents to $6.15. Also caught in a general move away from the base metal miners was Cameco, which dropped $1.95 to $47.65. Hard-core contrarians boosted Inmet 40 cents to $7.75.

Off the indices, Denison Mines added 4 cents to close at 34 cents, on a volume of 7.1 million shares.

On the junior boards, Crystallex was one of the week’s volume leaders, with 4.9 million shares riding the tape. Crystallex shares, which rose $1.75 to $7.40, have clawed their way back to the levels seen in early July when speculation was rife that the company could extract part of Placer Dome’s Las Cristinas gold project in Venezuela.

T&H Resources added 9 cents to close at 64 cents on a volume of 3.9 million shares. The company recently completed a $2-million special-warrant financing and plans to spin off wholly owned subsidiary Aurado Exploration as a public company.

Fairfield Minerals put in the best performance among the TSE juniors, adding 58 cents to close at $1.60.