U. S. MARKETS JUNE 17-23

U. S. markets were weighed down by the high oil price during the June 17-23 trading session. The Dow Jones industrial Average fell 427 points, or 3.5%, to 11,842; the S&P 500 Index lost 42 points, or 3.1%, to 1,318; and the NASDAQ dropped 89 points, or 3.6%, to 2,386. Precious metals indices moved in the opposite direction: the Amex Gold Bugs Index gained 13 points, or 3.2%, to 418, while the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index rose 2 points, or 1.1%, to 180.5.

Various governments showed concern about oil prices during the session. The Saudi government invited oil producing and consuming nations to a meeting, and there was general agreement that prices were too high. Four energy analysts testifying before a committee of the U. S. House of Representatives in Washington, D. C., said that speculation was causing much of the price rise in oil, and that limiting speculation could help lower prices. Another expert testified that the high price was solely a result of supply-demand fundamentals. Meanwhile, National Bank Financial said that the 18% rise in the gasoline price in China, coupled with changes in the driving habits of Americans, could cause enough demand destruction to substantially lower the price of oil over time.

The coal sector continued to march northwards on the back of a firm coal market, with heavyweights Peabody Energy, Arch Coal and Consol Energy moving up. Yanzhou Coal and Patriot Coal, however, lost ground.

Cleveland-Cliffs, a supplier of both metallurgical coal and iron ore, also gained ground, helped along by a strong iron ore market. Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto rose on news that contract negotiations with Japanese and Chinese steelmakers were likely to end up with sharply higher prices for iron ore, with some analysts forecasting that prices will double.

The fertilizer sector also continued to move upwards. Flood damage to corn crops in Iowa, which is a major corn grower, could be one contributor to increased fertilizer demand. Shares of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Agrium and Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile all rose, while Mosaic Co. shares dropped.

U. S. most active issues
	VOLUME	WEEK
	(000s) HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Vale* RIO	123466 36.58	34.26	35.06	+ 0.22
CoeurdAlene*CDE	66447 3.25	2.78	3.09	+0.28
Alcoa* AA	53566 40.28	36.96	37.71	-1.99
PotashCSask* POT	45850241.62	225.24	236.25	+ 6.12
Freeport McMo*FCX	39332 126.00	116.26	118.55	-6.11
Mosaic* MOS	37653 163.25	146.11	150.67	-2.77
Peabody Enrgy* BTU	33814 86.24	77.30	84.76	+ 7.46
Massey Energy* MEE	33285 94.68	83.55	93.38	+ 8.76
Barrick Gold* ABX	32761 41.50	39.25	41.02	+ 1.50
Intl Coal Gp* ICO	30543 13.90	11.77	12.88	+ 0.72

U. S. greatest percentage change
		VOLUME	WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Diamond Discv*	DMDD	7728	0.05	0.02	0.05	+150.0
Industrl Mnls*	IDSM	233	0.06	0.05	0.05	+ 66.6
Paramount Gld*	PZG	343	2.04	1.48	1.98	+ 30.2
Uranium Ener*	UEC	600	2.92	2.09	2.55	+ 25.6
Starfield Res*	SRFDF	708	1.33	1.02	1.21	+ 21.0
Gemini Expl*	GXPI	668	0.07	0.05	0.06	+ 20.0
Mesabi Trust*	MSB	191	30.88	26.10	30.45	+ 16.3
North Am En P*	NOA	1028	24.49	19.07	21.94	+ 14.2
Tombstone Exp*	TMBXF	482	0.42	0.33	0.40	+ 14.2
Foundatn Coal*	FCL	7999	88.40	75.10	85.29	+ 14.0
Commerce Grp*	CGCO	83	0.30	0.12	0.15	-50.0
Pac Gold*	PCFG	4964	0.02	0.01	0.01	-50.0
Douglas Lk Ml*	DLKM	1932	0.88	0.40	0.50	-44.4
El Capitan Pr*	ECPN	404	0.12	0.08	0.08	-33.3
World Vent*	WVNTF	15	0.10	0.10	0.10	-28.5
Gold Reserve*	GRZ	4613	1.90	1.24	1.28	-28.4
NT Holding*	NTHH	51	0.40	0.28	0.28	-26.3
Global Gold*	GBGD	29	0.32	0.21	0.21	-22.2
Buckingham Ex*	BUKX	66	0.49	0.35	0.35	-20.4
Fischer-W Gld*	FWGO	40	0.05	0.04	0.04	-20.0

U. S. greatest value change
WEEK
	VOLUME	CLOSE	CHANGE
Rio Tinto* RTP	1125042	477.57	+ 14.27
Foundatn Coal* FCL	7999164	85.29	+ 10.48
Cleveland-Cli* CLF	15583356	111.27	+ 10.23
Massey Energy* MEE	33285084	93.38	+ 8.76
Fording C C T* FDG	11001513	93.75	+ 8.01
Southern Copp* PCU	9268339	112.55	+ 7.71
Peabody Enrgy* BTU	33814144	84.76	+ 7.46
Agrium* AGU	6764800	112.45	+ 6.68
CONSOL Energy* CNX	19119863	113.34	+ 6.65
Soc Quim&M Ch*SQM	18100661	53.53	+ 6.37
Yanzhou Coal* YZC	1418369	85.97	-14.40
Patriot Coal* PCX	1847000	145.99	-8.37
Freeport McMo* FCX	39332034	118.55	-6.11
Cabot Corp* CBT	2122692	26.99	-3.02
Mosaic* MOS	37652774	150.67	-2.77
AngloGold Ash* AU	9213727	29.51	-2.54
Buenaventura* BVN	2769415	60.07	-2.35
Alcoa* AA	53566445	37.71	-1.99
ASA (Bermuda)* ASA	521461	76.04	-1.84
OM Group* OMG	3029276	38.51	-1.63