Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold Ends Unchanged While Silver Falls Over 1.5%

	Close	Gain/Loss
Gold	$1227.60	UNCH
Silver	$18.87	-$0.29
XAU	179.96	-2.09%
HUI	476.54	-2.24%
GDM	1432.34	-2.24%
JSE Gold	2524.44	+29.69
USD	86.20	+0.06
Euro	123.80	+0.23
Yen	108.07	-0.06
Oil	$70.08	-$1.53
10-Year	3.472%	+0.030
T-Bond	121.4375	-0.59375
Dow	10625.83	+0.05%
Nasdaq	2354.23	0.31%
S&P	1136.94	+0.11%

Gold and silver rose over 1% in Asia before they fell to see modest losses in London and then climbed back higher in early New York trade, but both metals then fell back off to new session lows in late morning action and gold ended unchanged on the day while silver closed with a loss of 1.51%.

Euro gold climbed to a new record closing high of €995, platinum lost $45 to $1661.50, and copper fell 20 cents to about $2.92.

Gold and silver equities fell over 3.5% by about noon EST before they rallied back higher in afternoon trade, but they still ended with over 2% losses.

Report	For	Reading	Expected	Previous
Empire Manufacturing Index	May	19.11	30.0	31.86
Net Long-Term TIC Flows	Mar	$140.5B	$40.0B	$47.1B

Tomorrow at 8:30AM EST brings Building Permits for April expected at 680,000, Housing Starts expected at 655,000, PPI for April expected at 0.1%, and Core PPI expected at 0.1%.

Oil fell on continued worries about energy demand due to impacts from the European debt crisis.

The U.S. dollar index ended only slightly higher as the euro rebounded from a new 4-year low that was driven by persistent fears over debt problems in Europe.

Treasuries fell as the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P reversed notable losses seen during most of day and rose in the last hour of trade to end with slight gains.

Among the big names making news in the market today were WaMu, GM, Lowe’s, GLG, and TIAA-CREF.

The big story is once again the collapse in the Euro – it actually registered some prints BELOW the worst levels seen back in late 2008 at the height of the credit crisis inception here in the US. It looks to me like the only ones seeing “Shock and Awe” are the European monetary authorities who today look like total buffoons after all their grandiose comments that were uttered when they first announced that they would defend the Euro at all costs. The phrase, “at all costs,” is going to be taken literally. What are they going to try next, direct intervention in the Forex markets? That ought to be good for at least a one day pop before the sellers smash it lower again as it would rightly be seen as an act of desperation.

The result of this – Euro priced gold missed the magical €1,000 mark at today’s PM fix by less than 2 euros as it made a brand new all time high again. That did not seem to deter the bullion banks and the official sector from doing their worst to window dress the price of gold at the Comex. Yep – we get it – the Euro is falling apart, the Pound is under severe pressure, even the Australian Dollar is getting whacked, and that means that we should all sell gold. Nice try boys – the days of rigging the gold price are coming to an end because to believe that gold would be lower under such circumstances if left to trading on its own merits requires one to also believe in the Tooth Fairy.

Open interest fell rather sharply last Friday on the spike towards $1250 which looks to me like it was a case of both shorts getting spooked and running while some of the shorter-term oriented trading crowd booked profits on the second approach towards that level which failed to penetrate it. I also suspect that some of spreader positions were reduced and that caused more of the drop than the former.

It is evident from the price charts that the price rise is being resisted above $1240 by the usual suspects. Bulls need to push through this area and hold price above it to kick off another leg higher. Support beneath the market is rising and is now coming in initially near the $1215 level. I am watching to see whether the market bull flags here which is a short term consolidation pattern before a market moves higher. We will know if that is the case based on the price action the next few days and whether or not it holds near the $1215 level on any dips lower. I would not mind seeing such a pattern forming for it would indicate that while the selling cap is in place, buyers see value just below the market. Based on the longer term charts, the market is in a bullish posture so the advantage to such a pattern is that the odds would favor the resumption of the uptrend once price closes strongly above $1242 – $1245. We will have to wait and see.

The HUI is once again of no help to gold whatsoever as it appears that the hedgies, after unwinding a good portion of those infernal ratio trades, are back at it again. The index has touched its rising 10 day moving average which so far is holding but it will need to stay above this level to keep from seeing further weakness in price. A push through along with a close above 487 would signify that bulls are going to take the shares higher. A close below 460 would cede short term advantage to the bears.

I find it ironic that on a day in which the equity markets are falling hard and the currency world is in turmoil, that the bond market seems to be having trouble moving higher. They are acting as if reluctant to extend much to the upside right now. I am not sure what this means but it is most strange market action. Maybe some bond bulls are getting concerned about all this unease in the Forex markets and the proliferation of what now seems to be quadrillions in debt issuance. Let’s keep a close eye on the price action there to see what the next move will be. Rising bond yields at the same time stocks are dropping off would signify a return to stagflation.

The Dollar put in another yearly high today as it still looks on course to make a run towards the 89 level on the technical price charts. It does look as if it might be taking a rest here however based on the way it is currently acting, namely, the fall off in price from today’s session peak. Of course, the day is yet young and it could recover closer to the session high later today but for now that is what I am seeing as I prepare these comments.

Crude oil is getting hit quite hard today and has fallen below the psychological support level of $70. This has been the area in price which has served as the bottom end of its price range for the entirety of 2010, so if it cannot soon recapture the $70 level and move away from it, it has the potential to drop as low as $65 on the charts before another layer of support might emerge.

The S&P has now fallen in the last three sessions after having moved back to the level at which it was trading prior to the big collapse last two week ago. The price action indicates a lack of trust by investors in the overall health of the market. We now have a range forming with the price prior to the collapse serving as the top side (let’s call that 1170) and the spike low (1056) made the next day serving as the bottom. A breakout in either direction on good volume will now serve to reveal which way the next move is going to be in the equity world.”- Dan Norcini, More at JSMineset.com

“U.S. Stock Market -This week’s trading should go a long way in telling us if this was yet just another correction/consolidation in this bear market rally or they indeed rang a bell. Because I’ve thankfully not mistaken just noise as a bell for well over a year now, my bear suit remains in the closet (but I do visit it from time to time and remind it how much I still love it).

Gold – I’ve stated over and over again for years that we’re experiencing the “mother” of all secular gold bull markets. But into every mega bull market comes periods of corrections (often short but sharp) and consolidations (new base-building at new higher levels). I noted late last Wednesday evening with gold at $1,236, my technical work was suggesting a minimum consolidation period due to a significant overbought condition.

The end of last week’s trading suggested we could be putting in a fairly significant “outside day” pattern whereupon Friday’s high was higher than Thursday and its low Friday was lower than Thursday’s low. Any significant sell-off today should confirm it was indeed an outside day and could bring in some technical selling. This in no way changes my long-term view and is actually very healthy for it. My target for 2010 remains $1,300 – $1,500

U.S. Dollar – While overbought, it now has all the makings for a run to as high as 92. I remain a bull for now but know despite the current glow in Uncle Sam’s face, he remains long-term terminally ill.

U.S.

Bonds - The bulls continue to win the battle, but the bears shall eventually win the war.

Oil and Gas – Oil is starting to look interesting again and around $65 could become a compelling buy. Natural gas has a record short position and that may actually be its main support for now, but I think the shorts win the battle and natural gas is under $3 this summer.

Note: Change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data: SPDR added 4.566 tonnes to a new record high holding, the LSE added 0.78 tonnes, and the JSE added 0.856 tonnes.

COMEX Gold Trust (IAU) Total Tonnes in Trust: 81.79 - No change from yesterday’s data.

Silver Trust (SLV) Total Tonnes in Trust: 9,191.37 - No change from yesterday’s data.

Goldcorp’s (GG) receipt of the final human rights assessment report, Rubicon’s (RBY) drill results, Keegan’s (KGN) assay results, Semafo’s (SMF.TO) bought deal financing, Allied Nevada’s (ANV) test results, Silver Wheaton’s (SLW) acquired right of first refusal, and ECU Silver’s (ECU.TO) assay results 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.

Brazil Gold to Accelerate Exploration Program at Manicore - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Tagish Lake Gold Corp.: Creditors Protection Extended to July 7, 2010 - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

GWR Closes $1,536,999.84 Brokered Private Placement - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Galahad Metals Inc.: Shares for Sidex Interest & Principal - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Adroit Resources Inc.: Red Vein Property Exploration Update - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Silver Wheaton Acquires Right of First Refusal on Silver Streams From Ventana's La Bodega Project - "We are pleased to have acquired a right of first refusal on this very promising project," said Peter Barnes, Chief Executive Officer of Silver Wheaton. "Drill results to date suggest that La Bodega has the potential to host a world-class gold deposit, with substantial silver by product credits. As the project advances, we look forward to working with Ventana towards completing a silver streaming agreement." More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Imperial Metals Corporation: Mount Polley Update on Mineral Reserve/Resource Estimates and Exploration Drilling - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Bonaventure Enterprises Inc.: New Pass Project Resource Estimate Updated and Clarified - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Ventana Announces $20.7 Million Private Placement and Right of First Refusal on Silver Stream With Silver Wheaton - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Acero-Martin Exploration Inc.: Closing of 1,500,000 Flow-Through Share Private Placement - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

High Desert Gold to Drill Gold Springs Project Starting in Early June - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Bellhaven Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire up to 100% of the La Mina Porphyry Au-(Cu) Project, Colombia - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Decade Resources Commences Exploration on Kitimat Copper-Gold Property - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Erdene Provides First Quarter Project Updates and Financial Results - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

SLAM and Beatrix Prepare to Drill Gold Properties - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Coro Announces Non-Brokered Private Placement - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Bralorne Gold Mines Ltd.: New Assay Results From BK Zone - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Goldcorp Announces Receipt of Human Rights Assessment Report - "GOLDCORP INC. (TSX:G - News)(NYSE:GG - News) today announced the receipt of the final human rights assessment report from the Steering Committee for the Human Rights Impact Assessment of the Marlin Mine. The report, prepared by On Common Ground Consultants Inc., is the result of an eighteen month assessment of how the Marlin Mine's presence and operations have affected human rights, and whether the company's policies, procedures and practices comply with international human rights standards. Goldcorp agreed with a group of its socially responsible shareholders to undertake the independent human rights impact assessment of the mine in 2008. The Steering Committee, comprised of a representative of the shareholder group, a representative from Guatemala, and a company representative, oversaw the assessment process which was guided by the tenets of transparency, independence, and inclusivity." More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

RX Leases Mill Facility for Bulk Testing of Drumlummon Feed - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Zaruma Resources Cease Trade Order - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Pele Mountain Begins Drilling Ni-Cu-PGE Targets at Pigeon River - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Treasury Metals Reports First Quarter Results and Exploration Update - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

TNR Gold Files Full Response to Minera Andes' Statement of Claim - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Amex Nominates J.H.Coleman on Board - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Western Lithium Doubles Resource Base of Kings Valley, Nevada, USA Lithium Project - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Far City Announces Grant of Stock Options - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

United Mining Group Commences Multi-Million Dollar Environmental Remediation Contract - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Altius Reports on Plans for 2010 Iron Ore Exploration Projects - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Caldera Appoints Vice-President Mining & Development - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Osisko Adopts Shareholder Rights Plan - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Tara Minerals Appoints Mr. David Bizzaro as Chief Financial Officer - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Vaaldiam Reports 2010 Q1 Financial Results - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Bell Copper Corporation - Non-brokered private placement - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

New Dawn's Turk Mine Labour Force Returns to Work - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Moneta continues to intersect high grade gold on the 55 Zone - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Mercator Reports First Quarter Results and Provides Operations Update - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Nanika Announces Herb Lake Manitoba Work Program - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Lake Victoria's Geophysical Surveys Indicate Possible Undiscovered Gold Bearing Quartz Veins at the Singida Gold Project, Tanzania - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Mandalay Resources completes acquisition of the La Quebrada copper-silver deposit and files Cerro Bayo technical report - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

AXMIN Receives Loan from AfNat Resources - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Ur-Energy Chairman Broadens Ownership - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Atna Resources Reports First Quarter 2010 Results - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Gold-Ore Begins Trading on TSX Senior Board - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

AmeriLithium Announces Successful Completion of Field Work on Nevada-Based Paymaster Asset - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Redhawk Receives Right of Way From Arizona State Land Department and Submits Permit Application for High Grade Drilling Program - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Capella Terminates Royalty Reduction Option for Nevada Gold Project - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Silver America, Inc. Announces Strategic Mining Engineer Appointment to Management Team - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Ironwood Gold's Exploration Program at Cobalt Canyon Project Completes Phase One - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

JOURDAN Commences Exploration at the Pivert-Stairs Rare Metals Property within the Pivert Rare Metals Corridor, James Bay Mining District (Quebec) - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Cadillac Obtains a 5.8% Copper and 24.8% Zinc Sample From Esperanza Project Dumps on the Esperanza P.I. - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Arianne Updates on the Lac a Paul Scoping Study - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Alexis Announces Rollover of $4.2 Million Convertible Debenture - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Mr. Mario Joly Named President of Ditem Explorations - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Strongbow Starts Exploration of Chilcotin Gold Properties in South Central British Columbia - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp. holds 2010 Annual General and Special Meeting - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Trelawney Intersects 112.39 Metres of 1.65 g/t Gold On 100-Metre Step-Out at the Cote Lake Deposit - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Creston's Application for Leave to Appeal is Granted - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Crocodile Gold on Track to Produce 200,000 Ounces Gold in 2011-Targeted Levels Now Consistently Being Achieved-Commercial Production to Be Declared - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Abacus Mining Announces James D. Excell to Board of Directors - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Colossus Minerals Inc. Announces COOMIGASP Shareholder Approval of Agreements to Acquire 774 Hectares of Additional Ground Continguous to Serra Pelada - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Duluth Metals hits 2.6% copper equivalent over 125 feet at Nokomis - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

African Queen Mines Signs Earn-in and JV Agreement for Rongo Gold Field Project in Kenya's Lake Victoria Greenstone Belt - More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Significant New High-Grade Gold Intercepts from Rubicon's F2 Gold System, Red Lake, Ontario - "Rubicon Minerals Corporation (RMX:TSX:/RBY:NYSE-AMEX) is pleased to provide an update of the latest diamond drilling results from its 100%-owned Phoenix Gold Project, located in the heart of the prolific Red Lake Gold District of Ontario. Drilling in several areas continues to intersect numerous high-grade and broad gold-bearing intervals which further expand the F2 Gold System. To date approximately 130,000 metres of drilling has been completed on the F2 Gold System and a further 115,000 metres are planned to test and infill a 1200 by 1600-metre target area, referred to as the '9X drill plan'. Significant new drill results are summarized below and all new results are presented in Table 1 and Figures 1, 2 and 3." More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Keegan Receives Excellent Results From Metallurgical Drilling at the Esaase Gold Project - "Keegan Resources Inc. (TSX:KGN - News)(AMEX:KGN - News) ("Keegan") is pleased to announce new assay results from its Esaase Gold Project located in southwest Ghana. The new results are from a recently completed infill core drilling program undertaken to provide samples for the next phase of metallurgical test work. Metallurgical test samples were obtained from a 1/4 split of the large diameter (PQ) core. Significant mineralized intercepts were produced from all holes, intersecting the targeted block model at or thicker than the approximate predicted width of the block model. Intercept highlights include 42 meters of 6.40 g/t Au, 69.8 meters of 2.6 g/t Au, and 149 meters of 1.17 g/t Au. These results will be incorporated into the existing resource model, please see http://www.keeganresources.com/ for a drill hole location map." More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Semafo to raise C$104.3 mln in bought deal - "Canadian gold miner Semafo Inc (SMF.TO) said it would raise C$104.3 million ($100.8 million) in a bought deal to finance the purchase of a mining fleet for its Samira Hill Mine and exploration and development at the Mana Mine." More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Allied Nevada Reports Further Positive Results of Ongoing Sulphide Metallurgical Testing - "Allied Nevada Gold Corp. ("Allied Nevada" or the "Company") (TSX:ANV - News)(AMEX:ANV - News) reports that results of variability testing of 20 additional samples of sulphide mineralization confirm previously announced initial test results. The additional variability samples were taken from the Cut-5, Boneyard, Bay Area and Vortex areas of the Company's wholly owned Hycroft mine located near Winnemucca, Nevada." More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

ECU Silver Yields Assays of 18 grams Gold and 966 grams Silver - "ECU Silver Mining Inc. (TSX:ECU - News) is very pleased to announce assay results which include samples that ranged up to 129.2 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold (Au) and up to 6,573 g/t of silver (Ag)." More
- May 17, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

- Would you like to receive the Free Daily Gold Seeker Report in your e-mail? Click here

Note: This article may be reproduced provided the article, in full, is used and mention to Gold-Seeker.com is given.

Disclosure: The owner, editor, writer and publisher and their associates are not responsible for errors or omissions. The author of this report is not a registered financial advisor. Readers should not view this material as offering investment related advice. Gold-Seeker.com has taken precautions to ensure accuracy of information provided. Information collected and presented are from what is perceived as reliable sources, but since the information source(s) are beyond Gold-Seeker.com’s control, no representation or guarantee is made that it is complete or accurate. The reader accepts information on the condition that errors or omissions shall not be made the basis for any claim, demand or cause for action. Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results. Any statements non-factual in nature constitute only current opinions, which are subject to change. Nothing contained herein constitutes a representation by the publisher, nor a solicitation for the purchase or sale of securities & therefore information, nor opinions expressed, shall be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any stock, futures or options contract mentioned herein. Investors are advised to obtain the advice of a qualified financial & investment advisor before entering any financial transaction.