Just out... Gold marketwatch.com
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Gold futures prices climbed to their highest level in two weeks Friday, supported by seasonal strength in demand. Shares of major metals companies also rose sharply.
NEWS FOR $XAU
Gold contract climbs to two-week high
Copper futures rise 5% to six-month high
Gold issues mixed; prices close higher
More news for $XAU
"Physical demand from major consuming regions remains strong for seasonal reasons, while risk-hedging activity is still in evidence," Rhona O'Connell of the World Gold Council said in a daily report.
But macroeconomic factors yielded a fuzzier picture.
U.S. gross domestic product data that came out Wednesday were better than expected -- "a double-edged sword for gold," said Erik Gebhard, an analyst at Altavest.com.
"On the one hand, a favorable economic outlook infers increased industrial and jewelry demand. On the other hand, a positive outlook is less reason for gold bugs to run to gold as a safe haven against a supposed economic collapse," he said.
Gold for April delivery traded at $285.30 an ounce, up $2.40 on the Commodities Exchange division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose as high as $285.40 earlier in the session, the highest level seen since Jan. 18.
The March silver contract rose by 9.2 cents to $4.315 an ounce.
On the supply end, Comex gold inventories were unchanged at 1.19 million ounces, as of late Thursday. Silver stocks were flat at 102.4 million ounces.
In other metals news, April platinum traded at $448 an ounce, down 20 cents, while March palladium climbed by $1 to stand at $370 an ounce. March copper traded at 73.55 cents a pound, up 0.2 cent, after climbing 5 percent a day earlier.
Comex copper stocks, by late Thursday, were up 765 short tons to 284,462 short tons.
Shares climb
Shares of major metals companies also posted sharp gains on the heels of gold's price strength.
The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index ($XAU: news, chart, profile) stood at 63.31, up 3.2 percent from the previous session. The index is currently at its highest level since May of last year.
The CBOE Gold Index ($GOX: news, chart, profile) climbed by 3.8 percent to a 48.32 reading and the Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI: news, chart, profile) reached 79.29, up 4.2 percent from the previous session.
Individually, shares of Newmont Mining (NEM: news, chart, profile) rose by $1.26 in recent action to $23.10 and Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM: news, chart, profile) added 29 cents to stand at $11.78.
Barrick Gold (ABX: news, chart, profile) gained 52 cents to trade at $17.62. On Thursday, the company reported 2001 production of 6.1 million ounces of gold at low cash costs of $162 per ounce.
It also said it benefited from its merger with Homestake Mining, a deal completed in the fourth quarter of last year. Barrick Gold will report full-year 2001 results on Feb. 14. |
