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Gold/Mining/Energy : An obscure ZIM in Africa traded Down Under -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (65)	7/26/2002 10:48:56 PM
From: TobagoJack	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 867

Gold Down ... quote.bloomberg.com Gold Has Biggest Weekly Drop in 2 1/2 Years on Stronger Dollar By Claudia Carpenter New York, July 26 (Bloomberg) -- Gold had its worst week in 2 1/2 years as the dollar strengthened and stocks recovered, reducing the metal's allure as an alternative investment. The dollar had its biggest weekly gain against the euro and yen in more than a year, making the metal more costly for buyers using those currencies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its first weekly increase in three weeks. Gold futures fell 6.4 percent for the week, the biggest drop since December 1999. This week's decline has been ``mainly because the dollar looks like it's stopped falling and is going to bounce back a bit,'' said John Bridges, an analyst at J.P. Morgan & Chase & Co. in New York. ``For now, there's less concern about the general markets.'' Gold for August delivery fell $6.40, or 2.1 percent, to $303.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest closing price for a most-active contract since April 19. Gold stocks also fell. The Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index declined 3.76, or 6.3 percent, to 55.73, the lowest level since Jan. 3. Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp., the world's biggest gold producer, fell $1.05, or 4.5 percent, to $22.21, a six-month low. The increased appeal of gold for investors seeking a haven fueled a rally that sent futures prices to a 2 1/2-year high of $331.50 an ounce on June 4. Gold, still up 8.7 percent for the year, may have difficulty holding on to the gain, traders said. Haven? ``Safe-haven buying in gold never lasts long,'' said Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management, a money- management company in Evanston, Illinois. ``When people see the stock market go up and down drastically like it has, they just want to get out of all of the markets.'' The dollar strengthened 2.4 percent against the euro this week to 98.72 cents per euro, its biggest weekly gain since March 2001. It rose 1.8 percent today. The U.S. currency had its biggest weekly jump in 14 months against the euro. The dollar had fallen to a 2 1/2-year low against the euro on July 19 as declines for U.S. stocks reduced demand for the currency. The rally in gold had been fueled by hedge funds and other speculators, who had bought 73,044 contracts as of June 4, when the high for gold prices was reached, according to figures from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. `False Sentiment' Speculators' ``long'' position had dropped 34 percent to 48,196 as of three days ago, according to a report today from the commission. The increased investor interest in gold was reflected in a rise in sales of American Eagle gold coins to a six-month high of 26,500 ounces in June, the U.S. Mint said earlier this month. ``What we're seeing is an erosion of the false sentiment which pushed prices up,'' said Howard Patten, an analyst at Barclays Capital in London. ``There wasn't a great deal of fundamental strength to gold prices at'' the levels they had reached, he said.