U.S. markets retreated in the Oct. 8-12 trading week despite data demonstrating that Americans are the most upbeat they have been in five years. The approaching U.S. election and worries about Europe, slowing Chinese growth and corporate earnings all put a damper on U.S. equities. The S&P 500 posted its biggest weekly percentage drop since June, falling 2.21% or 32.34 points to 1,428.59, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.10% or 281.30 points to 13,328.85.The Philadelphia Gold and Silver index lost 3.46% or 6.63 points to 184.90 points.
Long-suffering U.S.-based thermal coal producers caught a break last week when natural gas prices moved higher due to lower-than-expected inventory building. Consol Energy topped the list of value gains surging 12% or US$3.79 to US$35.14 per share, while Peabody Energy climbed 14.8% or US$3.33 to US$25.71, Alpha Natural Resources finished US$1.30 or 19.7% higher at US$7.88, and Arch Coal advanced US$1.02 to US$7.62 or 15.4%.
Cliffs Natural Resources rose US$2.14 to US$40.50 on news it had reached a tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers on a new three-year labour contract offer that will cover about 2,400 workers at the company’s empire and Tilden mines in Michigan and its United Taconite and Hibbing Taconite mines in Minnesota.
Keegan Resources surged 14.4% to US$3.72 per share on the back of an updated resource estimate for its 90%-owned Esaase gold project in Ghana and confirmation that the company plans to take a more selective approach to mining the deposit at lower rates and higher grades that will cut costs. Patriot Gold jumped 13.8% to 23¢ on news that it plans to start a resource definition drill program to expand the parameters of a potential starter pit at its Moss gold-silver project in Arizona, and positive assay results from its Bruner gold project in Nevada, where drill hole B-127C returned 52.4 metres averaging 2.21 grams gold per tonne.
Compass Minerals was up 72¢ to US$76.62 — still riding high from news the previous week that it had purchased the mining rights to about 100 million tons of salt reserves in the Chile’s Atacama Desert for US$6.5 million.
On the negative side of the ledger Royal Gold plunged US$9.72 to US$88.60 per share. Investors apparently didn’t like the company’s decision to sell 5.25 million common shares to a group of underwriters led by Goldman Sachs. The company plans to use the proceeds to acquire additional royalties and for general corporate purposes.
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