-- Posted 26 December, 2006 | | Source: SilverSeek.com
| Close | Gain/Loss |
Gold | $623.90 | +$4.30 |
Silver | $12.60 | +$0.07 |
XAU | 139.34 | +0.61% |
HUI | 329.89 | +0.57% |
GDM | 1060.93 | +0.65% |
JSE Gold | 2845.97 | UNCH |
USD | 84.06 | +0.26 |
Euro | 131.05 | -0.12 |
Yen | 83.94 | -0.13 |
Oil | $61.10 | -$1.31 |
10-Year | 4.603% | -0.021 |
T-Bond | 112.46875 | +0.28125 |
Dow | 12407.63 | +0.52% |
Nasdaq | 2413.51 | +0.51% |
S&P | 1416.90 | +0.44% |
The Metals:
Gold opened a few dollars higher in Asia on Monday and remained higher until the open in New York today which took it nearly $10 higher from last Friday’s close up near $630 before it fell back off into the close, but it still ended with a decent gain. Silver rose up near $12.75 before it too fell off into the close, but it still ended with a respectable gain as well.
Euro gold rose above €475, platinum fell $1 to $1,118, palladium gained $3 to $324, and copper fell slightly but remained near $2.86.
Gold and silver equities rose over 1% in the first hour of trade, but they then steadily fell off for the rest of trade and ended with only about 0.5% gains.
The Economy:
There were no major economic reports today, but some regional manufacturing reports from the Richmond and Dallas fed that came in weak and a disappointing report on home sales by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index did have some talking. Tomorrow at 10AM EST brings New Home Sales for November expected at 1,015,000.
The Markets:
Charts Courtesy of http://finance.yahoo.com/
Oil rose in early trade as Iran defied UN sanctions, but it then fell in later trade due to warm weather in the North-Eastern U.S and an expected continuation of warmer than expected weather for a majority of the country.
The U.S. dollar index fell in early trade along with interest rates, but it then rebounded and found small gains in afternoon trade as the yen fell after some weak Japanese inflation and spending data.
Treasuries rose in morning trade after the Richmond and Dallas fed came out with some reports that raised doubts over the manufacturing sector, but gains were limited ahead of tomorrow’s New Home Sales data and a more closely watched manufacturing report of the Chicago PMI on Friday.
The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P rose on the lightest volume trading day of the year on lower oil prices despite news that holiday sales do not seem to be coming in as strong as most had expected.
Among the big names making news in the market today were the retailers, Anadarko, Gazprom, Alcoa, and Telik.
The Commentary:
“February Gold finished up 4.6 at 626.9, 5.4 off the high and 0.4 up from the low.
March Silver closed up 0.09 at 12.725. This was 0.015 up from the low and 0.145 off the high.
After a rather stellar early morning pulse up the gold market seemed to fall back just after mid session in the wake of a rather significant failure in the energy complex. With a number of market players out because of the ongoing holiday season, it is possible that the buyers acted early and the market lacked the interest later in the day to hold the gains. It should also be noted that the Dollar managed a rally in the early afternoon trade and that created concern that the Dollar was indeed poised to seriously extend on the upside. With the Press toning down the concern toward the Iranian situation it is also possible that some early flight to quality buyers simply decided to bank some profits and move to the sidelines.
Silver gapped higher and appeared to be poised to run up aggressively but with a mid morning reversal in oil prices and a strengthening of the Dollar after mid session, the bulls in silver seemed to back away from their guns. It is possible that a slight reduction in geopolitical anxiety fomented the profit taking. It is also possible that partially thinned trading conditions allowed technical considerations to become a more important, but in the end the favorable start to the week wasn't totally lost because of the back and forth price action. It is also possible that patently slow US economic readings discouraged the bulls after the sharply higher opening.” - The Hightower Report, Futures Analysis and Forecasting
GATA Posts:
Washington Post notices Barrick's sharp practice in Chile
North Korea selling gold; may have up to 2,000 tonnes
It's only money, and maybe it's not even that
Wall St. bonuses: So much money, so few Ferraris
China says it will continue stable monetary policy
China lowers gold trading threshold for small investors
ETF investors are buying the dip in silver
Like S. Korea, Thailand cites power to debase its currency
Jim Puplava: The next rogue wave
Michael Kosares: China wasn't impressed, so get your gold
Spending China's dollars: $16 billion gas project in Iran
The Statistics:
As of close of business: 12/22/2006
Gold Warehouse Stocks: | 7,534,516 | - |
Silver Warehouse Stocks: | 110,604,951 | - |
Global Gold ETF Holdings
[WGC Sponsored ETF’s]
| Product name | Total Tonnes | Total Ounces | Total Value |
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) AND Singapore Exchange (SGX) | Streettracks Gold Shares | 452.01 | 14,532,457 | US$ 9,004m |
LSE (London Stock Exchange) AND Euronext Paris | Gold Bullion Securities | 90.30 | 2,903,139 | US$ 1,813m |
Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) | Gold Bullion Securities | 10.53 | 338,396 | US$ 211m |
Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) | New Gold Debentures | 10.00 | 321,597 | US$ 199m |
Note: No change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data.
COMEX Gold Trust (IAU)
Profile as of 12/22/2006 | |
Total Net Assets | $884,743,410 | Ounces of Gold
in Trust | 1,429,417.361 |
Shares Outstanding | 14,400,000 | Tonnes of Gold
in Trust | 44.46 |
Note: No change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data.
Silver Trust (SLV)
Profile as of 12/22/2006 | |
Total Net Assets | $1,513,851,265 | Ounces of Silver
in Trust | 121,144,585.200 |
Shares Outstanding | 12,150,000 | Tonnes of Silver
in Trust | 3,768.02 |
Note: No change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data.
The Stocks:
The U.S. antitrust nod for Freeport’s (FCX) bid for Phelps Dodge (PD) and U.S. Energy’s (USEG) approved merger offer with Crested (CRAG.OB) were among the big stories in the gold and silver mining industry making headlines today.
WINNERS
1. Entree | EGI +9.27% $1.65 |
2. Fronteer | FRG+4.69% $8.71 |
3. Nevsun | NSU+4.63% $2.26 |
LOSERS
1. Exeter | XRA -3.77% $1.79 |
2. Northern Orion | NTO -3.49% $3.59 |
3. Claude Resources | CGR -3.40% $1.42 |
Winners & Losers tracks NYSE and AMEX listed gold and silver mining stocks that trade over $1.
All of today's gold and silver stock news:
Freeport deal for Phelps gets U.S. antitrust nod - "U.S. antitrust authorities said on Tuesday they have approved Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.'s (FCX.N: Quote, Profile , Research) bid to buy Phelps Dodge Corp. (PD.N: Quote, Profile , Research). Officials have completed their investigation of the proposed deal without taking any action, the Federal Trade Commission said in a notice." More
- December 26, 2006 | Item | E-mail
U.S. Energy Corp. and Crested Corp. Boards of Directors Vote to Approve Merger Offer; Definitive Documents and Proxy/Prospectus to Be Prepared - "On December 20, 2006, the special committee of the board of directors of U.S. Energy Corp. ("USE") met with the special committee of the board of directors of Crested Corp. ("Crested"). Following extensive discussions between the two committees, the USE committee proposed a merger of Crested into USE, by means of an offer to acquire the minority shares of Crested, based on an exchange ratio of one share of common stock of USE for every two shares of Crested common stock not held by USE (which owns 71% of the Crested common stock). Both special committees are comprised of independent outside board members of the respective companies." More
- December 26, 2006 | Item | E-mail
Cameco gets set to drain Cigar Lake uranium mine - More
- December 26, 2006 | Item | E-mail
Key Gold Corporation Changes Name, Trading Symbol and Cusip Number - More
- December 26, 2006 | Item | E-mail
- Chris Mullen, Gold Seeker Report
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-- Posted 26 December, 2006 | |
