Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold and Silver Gain Over 1% and 2%

	Close	Gain/Loss
Gold	$912.55	+$11.55
Silver	$12.79	+$0.34
XAU	126.83	+2.75%
HUI	300.63	+1.51%
GDM	953.25	+2.00%
JSE Gold	2444.26	-74.37
USD	85.94	+0.29
Euro	127.84	-0.66
Yen	109.70	-2.16
Oil	$41.17	+$0.85
10-Year	2.900%	-0.014
T-Bond	126.90625	+0.265625
Dow	8063.07	+1.34%
Nasdaq	1546.24	+2.06%
S&P	845.85	+1.64%

Gold rose to as high as $924.50 and silver climbed to $12.92 by a little before 9AM EST in New York before both metals fell back off over 1% from those highs into the close, but they still ended with gains of 1.28% and 2.73% on the day.

Euro gold rose to about €710, platinum gained $8.50 to $970.50, and copper fell a few cents to about $1.50.

Gold and silver equities traded roughly 2% higher in morning trade before they fell back near unchanged by early afternoon, but they then rallied back near or above their earlier highs in late trade and the miners ended with roughly 2% gains on the day.

Report	For	Reading	Expected	Previous
Productivity	Q4	3.2%	1.5%	1.5%
Unit Labor Costs	Q4	1.8%	2.8%	2.6%
Initial Claims	1/30	626K	580K	591K
Factory Orders	Dec	-3.9%	-3.1%	-6.5%

Tomorrow at 8:30AM EST brings January’s jobs data. Nonfarm Payrolls are expected at -540,000, the Unemployment Rate is expected at 7.5%, Hourly Earnings are expected at 0.2%, and the Average Workweek is expected at 33.3. At 2PM is Consumer Credit for December expected at -$3.5 billion.

Oil rose on hopes that the mostly horrible economic data of late will help push through another stimulus plan that will in turn supposedly help energy demand.

The U.S. dollar index rose slightly as the yen fell on a renewed wave of risk taking that encouraged traders to borrow against the yen to buy other assets. The euro and Pound were steady after the Bank of England cut rates to 1% and the European Central Bank held rates at 2% as expected.

“U.S. Treasury debt prices rose on Thursday, rebounding from Wednesday's losses as weak economic readings overrode supply worries a day before the release of January payrolls data.”

The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P fell at the open on more economic worries as Initial Jobless Claims came in much higher than expected, but rumors over a possible rule change over how companies value their assets ignited a rally in the financials as the change would allow banks to hide their huge losses again and all three indices ended with decent gains as a result. “Bank stocks pared early losses following speculation the government could funnel aid to regional banks. And investors examined reports that Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said the government could consider suspending accounting rules governing how companies value assets. This could make it easier for banks to avoid having to book huge losses each quarter on investments that have fallen in their worth but are hard to value.”

Among the big names making news in the market today were Bank of America, Wal-Mart, Limited, State Street, Swiss Re, Cigna, Burger King, Duke Energy, and MasterCard.

“Gold continues to benefit from destructive monetary policies which are being pursued globally. As capital seeks to preserve its purchasing power, currencies once deemed more powerful than gold are now being questioned. The relative size of the gold market compared to global monetary system reveals that only small fractions of this capital looking for safety will significantly boost its value. Gold is returning as the king currency and its scarcity will propel prices significantly higher. Currently record highs from 2008 are back in focus, exceeding these levels will likely ignite another influx of demand which could bring about $1,100 to $1,200 over the coming several months, if not sooner. We will continue to see strong bids on pullbacks.”- Peter Spina, www.goldforecaster.com

Gold priced in terms of Euros once again set a new all-time record high at the London PM Fix at €719.199. Clearly, European-based gold buying is very, very strong right now.

The commodity currencies, the Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand Dollar, were all higher in today’s session as were many commodities notably the grains, unleaded gasoline and natural gas. Palladium kicked back above the $200 level while platinum remains a bit below the $1000 level trading near $990.

Around mid-session, news hit the wire that the feds were considering suspending or modifying the mark-to-market accounting rules which had forced banks to value the stuff on their books at market prices instead of their computer model prices. Wall Street loved it and immediately began buying up shares of the financials which firmed the entire equities markets and put a bid back into many commodities. Interestingly enough, both copper and lumber went down – not exactly an encouraging sign for those looking for signs of a bottom in housing.

Gold began moving off its highs on the news as the safe haven bid for the metal then began to dry up. The idea is that if the banks can fudge the numbers on their books then they can present much improved balance sheets to observers and thus restore confidence to the market which in turn will supposedly lead to a loosening of credit and improved lending activity. I am not saying I agree with this but just remarking about how it is being viewed. All I know is that I sure wish it was that easy for me to improve my financial picture by arbitrarily assigning a value to my assets. “What are you worth Trader Dan?” “I don’t know – what do you want me to be worth and I will make it so”.

I am not sure where this is going to go but for today at least, it is the talk of the town.

The technical result of all this as concerns gold was that after it had charged all the way back to strong resistance at that stubborn $920 line, the potential accounting change news emboldened the shorts and spooked the longs and down and back away from that level it receded once again. Ditto for the shares as indicated by the HUI and the XAU which fell back from the top of their trading range once again. The move further away from support down near $890 is constructive but gold has still been unable to get a strong move through $930, which is what it will take to set up the next leg higher. For now it remains in a consolidating pattern with an upward bias.

Gold is trading firmly above all of the major moving averages with the 10 day proving to be good support. All of those moving averages are trending solidly higher. The RSI is still not yet in the overbought zone so there is potential for further upwards action should bulls have the wherewithal to push it higher.

The accounting news also pushed the Dollar back down and moved the Euro back into positive territory as risk was back in once again with the Japanese Yen getting the snot beat out of it. The Yen could collapse quite rapidly if this risk mentality sets back in again. Maybe the jobs number tomorrow which is expected to be quite poor will firm it back up again but since that number is already widely expected to be a stinker, it will probably take an extremely poor reading to undo the mild euphoria surrounding the change in accounting rules. All I know is that there are a helluva lot of spec longs piled into the Yen and it could be quite a bloodbath in there if the sentiment towards it shifts. Those of you who want to trade that thing, should be prepared for extreme volatility. You could get hurt very badly if you are not very, very quick.

Gold deliveries for February were worse than terrible – they were non-existent. In other words, there were ZERO deliveries assigned for today in the February contract. That should make the thieving gold shorts at the Comex quite pleased. Nothing like signaling defeat to your enemy and boosting their morale.

Open interest levels are still remarkably low considering the levels at which gold is trading. We are at 346,000 compared to a peak above 593,000 and gold is $85 away from the $1,000 level.”- Dan Norcini, More at JSMineset.com

“April Gold closed up 12 at 914.2. This was 3.4 up from the low and 10.8 off the high.

March Silver finished up 0.28 at 12.75, 0.1 off the high and 0.02 up from the low.

Gold made solid gains on Thursday on safe haven buying tied to ongoing economic jitters which continues to feed strong investment flows toward the metal. Gold likely found support as more banking problems surfaced and a jump in jobless claims kept the economic uncertainty high. With the Bank of England cutting interest rates to a record low level and expectations for the massive US stimulus plan to be passed soon, the buying in gold seemed to also be tied to concerns for an eventual return of inflation. A rebound in the US equity market also helped to underpin April gold and offset the deflationary implications seen in the jobless claims and factory orders reports. But backed by strong physical demand for precious metal, it seemed as if outside markets only had a minor influence on gold during the session.

A fresh buying wave seemed to be flowing into silver as well as the metal traded sharply higher. While silver initially fell back on the negative jobs and manufacturing news, the market reversed course after holding a test of a key price level that appeared to attract strong chart based buying. Safe haven demand along with investor buying interest from an inflation hedge angle seems to be the core factors behind the gains in silver. It was clear from Thursday's trade that investors have embraced silver as a precious metal since the market quickly shrugged off the decline in factory orders as well as the weaker price action in copper.”- The Hightower Report, Futures Analysis and Forecasting

Note: Change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data: SPDR added 6.12 tonnes to a new record high holding and the LSE added 1.63 tonnes.

Almaden’s (AAU) assay results, Kinross Gold’s (KGC) completed public offering, Royal Gold’s (RGLD) second quarter results, Sterling Mining’s (SRLM.OB) mine lease status, Pan American Silver’s (PAAS) public offering pricing, and Arian’s (AGQ.V) revised share exchange transaction were among the big stories in the gold and silver mining industry making headlines today.

Winners & Losers tracks NYSE and AMEX listed gold and silver mining stocks that trade over $1.

Almaden Minerals Ltd.: 36.6 Metres Grading 1.13 g/t Gold Intersected at Caballo Blanco, Mexico - "Almaden Minerals Ltd. ("Almaden", "the Company") (Toronto:AMM.TO - News)(AMEX:AAU - News) is pleased to report that it has received additional assay results from the Cerro la Paila gold target and of its Caballo Blanco project in Veracruz, Mexico from operating partner Canadian Gold Hunter Corp. ("CGH") (Toronto:CGH.TO - News). Core hole 08CBN-029 intersected 36.58 metres grading 1.13 g/t Au (grams gold per metric ton) on the Cerro la Paila gold target in the Northern Zone. CGH has reported that the drill program is testing the Cerro la Paila gold target using two track-mounted core rigs. The initial program of 24 holes (5,000 m) will infill Cerro la Paila on 50-metre sections and test two other high-sulphidation gold targets in the Northern Zone - Cerro la Cruz and Cerro Bandera." More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Golden Goose issues an update on its gold property - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Ventana Announces New La Bodega Drill Results-12.75 Metres of 34.62 Grams Per Tonne Gold - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

SIRIOS RESOURCES INC.: Grant of Incentive Stock Options - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Sterling Mining Clarifies Status of Its Sunshine Mine Lease - "Sterling Mining Company (OTC Bulletin Board: SRLM - News) wishes to clarify the status of the Sunshine Mine Lease on the Sunshine Mine located near Kellogg, Idaho. In response to recent news articles indicating that the Company had "lost" the lease and the owner of the Mine, Sunshine Precious Metals (SPMI) intended to repossess the property, the Company desires to clarify the present situation. SPMI has in the past and continues to claim that material defaults have occurred in several provisions of the mining lease. These allegations have been responded to in a timely manner and the Company does not believe that any of the defaults are material or non-curable, although these issues will ultimately likely be determined through the judicial process. The Company is maintaining a small crew at the mine on a 24-hour basis for security and basic maintenance." More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Klondike Gold Responds to Current Market Conditions by Conserving Capital - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

International Beryllium Corporation: Domestic Supply of Beryllium a Critical Issue States Pentagon Board - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

James Douglas Brown Resigns as Director of Uranium International Corp. - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Valencia Ventures Grants Stock Options - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

General Moly Appoints Andrew G. Sharkey to Board of Directors - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Freewest Intersects 30.0% Cr2O3 Over 124 Metres at Black Thor on its 100%-Owned McFaulds Property in Northern Ontario - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Western Troy Acquires Gold Claims in Quebec, Delays MacLeod Lake Feasibility Study - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Appalaches Confirms the Potential of the Dufferin Mine - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Significant Monetary Policy Changes Announced in Zimbabwe - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Lake Victoria Mining Company Begins Drilling at Geita Gold Project, Tanzania - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Boxxer Announces Private Placement - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Romarco - More Drilling Planned at Haile - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Cogitore Discovers New Massive Sulphides on Caribou Property: Includes Intersection of 2.52% Copper, 6.99% Zinc, 1.48 g/t Gold and 62.8 g/t Silver Over 1.7 m. - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

StrataGold receives recommendation to advance the Eagle Zone Deposit to Pre-Feasibility, Dublin Gulch, Yukon - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

GoldSpring Finds High-Grade Gold and Silver From Recent Infill Drilling Assay Results - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Los Andes Copper Announces Final Drilling Results From the 2008 Program at Vizcachitas - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

American Bonanza Corporate Update - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Colibri delineates two prospective new gold targets on the Colibri Project, Sonora, Mexico - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

USEC Provides Update on American Centrifuge - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Capital Gold Continues Record Production Increases - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

SearchGold Provides an Activity Update; Focusses on Advanced Gold Projects - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Trevali Resources Corp.: Further High-Grade Silver Intersections Extend Depth of Magistral Central Sulphide Body on the Santander Silver-Lead-Zinc Mine Project - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Star Gold Corp. Announces Initiation of Exploration Program at Excalibur Project, Nevada - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Takeover Bid by Paladin Energy Ltd for Fusion Resources Limited - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Volta Announces NI 43-101 Resource Estimate at Gaoua 724,880,000 lbs of Copper and 1,072,900 Ounces of Gold Inferred - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

PDX Resources Advised of Drill Results From Detour Gold's Drilling Program at Detour Lake, Ontario - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Detour Gold Obtains Excellent Results From Its Ongoing Drilling Program at Detour Lake in Ontario - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Romios Gold Options Former Producing La Corne Molybdenum Mine Property and Completes 5,738 Metre Drilling Program - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Ucore Uranium Confirms Significant Rare Earth Presence at Geoduck Zone, Expands Confirmed Bokan Mineralized Area - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Northland Signs Memorandum of Understanding With GIIC to Supply DR Grade Pellet Feed - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Advanced Explorations Inc. Announces First Iron Results from A-Zone - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Mega Uranium Ltd.: Update on Exploration Activities in Chubut Province, Argentina - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Flex Fuels Energy, Inc. Phase 2 Mineral Exploration - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

International Nickel Ventures Corporation Provides 2009 Outlook and Exploration Update - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Millrock Announces Purchase of 100% Interest in Estelle Gold Claims, Alaska - More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Pan American Silver Announces Pricing of Public Offering of Common Shares - "Pan American Silver Corp. (Toronto:PAA.TO - News)(NasdaqGS:PAAS - News) (the "Company") announced today that it has priced its previously announced public offering of common shares (the "Offering"). Pursuant to the Offering, the Company will issue 5,540,000 common shares at a price of US$16.25 per share, for aggregate proceeds of approximately US$90 million. The Company will file a final prospectus supplement to its existing base shelf prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada and will make a similar filing with the SEC (the "Offering"). Closing of the Offering is scheduled for February 12, 2009." More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Kinross Completes Public Equity Offering - "Kinross Gold Corporation (Toronto:K.TO - News)(NYSE:KGC - News) announced today that it has completed its previously announced bought deal public offering of common shares of Kinross at a price of US$17.25 per common share. The underwriters, led by UBS Securities Canada Inc., elected to exercise their over-allotment option in full prior to closing today, resulting in a total of 24,035,000 common shares being issued for gross proceeds of US$414,603,750." More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Arian Announces Revision to Terms of Share Exchange Transaction With Grafton Resource Investments Ltd. - "Arian Silver Corporation ("Arian" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:AGQ - News; AIM:AGQ)(PLUS:AGQ)(FRANKFURT:I3A - News) announces revised terms of its proposed share exchange transaction with Grafton Resource Investments Ltd. ("Grafton"), announced on 27 January 2009. The transaction remains subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval." More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

Royal Gold Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2009 Results - "ROYAL GOLD, INC. (Nasdaq: RGLD - News; TSX: RGL - News), a leading precious metals royalty company, today announced second quarter fiscal 2009 net income of $21.4 million, or $0.63 per basic share, on royalty revenue of $14.6 million. This compares to net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 of $4.6 million, or $0.11 per basic share, on royalty revenue of $14.7 million.(2) Net income for the six-month period ended December 31, 2008, was $27.1 million, or $0.80 per basic share, on royalty revenue of $30.7 million. This compares to net income of $10.1 million, or $0.30 per basic share, for the six-month period ended December 31, 2007, on royalty revenue of $27.2 million." More
- February 05, 2009 | Item | E-mail

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