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Non-Tech : Dorsey Wright & Associates. Point and Figure -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tommy Dorsey who wrote (703)	10/5/1999 7:50:00 PM
From: John Pitera	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9427

~~African gold minister Ashanti Goldfields said in a statement today that it was keeping an eye on its hedge book after restructuring its hedge commitments last week. The Ghanaian mining firm said the recent unexpected rise in gold prices and the dramatic increase in market volatility had led to certain counterparties being entitled to margin calls. Last week Ashanti Goldfields of Ghana indicated that it had unwound roughly 80% of its hedge position of about 9 million tonnes Buying associated with covering of short option positions is also being featured. Escalating option volatility remains as much of a risk to shorts as the higher price levels. One-month lease rates eased to 4.6% from 5.00-5.50% yesterday. Overnight there was a report suggesting its was possible that Switzerland might sell its 1295 tonnes of gold over more than a five year period.. Still the question for the gold market is the magnitude of the short position held by producers and speculators and to what extent shorts will be pressured from rising prices and extremely high lease rates. The high lease rates should dissuade new short positions by specs and producers while increasing the cost of rolling positions. Outstanding gold loans have been estimated at between 5,000 to 12,000 tonnes. Attention now appears focused on the $340 level which was the breakout point of the a major bull market for gold that was supported by buying from George Soros and Sir James Goldsmith. ~~ some comments from SBarney today