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Gold/Mining/Energy : AVL.V - AVALON VENTURES -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RMF who wrote (742)	4/22/1998 8:02:00 PM
From: D McP.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1474

MICAP, Why do you say that you think we may "take a hit here", particularly with "palladium up $33"? If that was supposed to be a cause-and-effect relationship, well, I think you've got the effect B'wards. Unless the sort of "hit" you're referring to is also sometimes referred to as a "shot in the arm"...as in "Boost"!! "Hooray palladium prices" and all that! D.McP.

To: RMF who wrote (742)	4/23/1998 7:21:00 AM
From: DRT	Respond to of 1474

Looks good for Wolf Mtn. and Dubenski ... ___________ Wednesday April 22, 12:21 pm Eastern Time Palladium dominates with record high fix, gold up LONDON, April 22 (Reuters) - Palladium once again dominated European trade in precious metals on Wednesday, rising more than 12 percent as dealers anticipated further political confusion in Russia, the major supplier of the metal. The white precious metal fixed at $380.00 an ounce spot in the afternoon, up on the morning's $338.00, approaching a 100 percent rise since its early January price near $200.00. Prices were driven by fears that Russia's State Duma lower house of parliament might again reject President Boris Yeltsin's prime ministerial nominee Sergei Kiriyenko, further confusing the export picture for platinum group metals (PGMs). Gold built on Tuesday's gains in the United States, helped by technical trade linked to New York COMEX futures contracts. It fixed at $312.80 an ounce in the afternoon versus the morning's $311.20. Silver trade was dull, not helped by a flattening forward price curve on the London fixing which flipped out of ''backwardation,'' a sign of improved physical supply. Platinum, less prone to Russian supply problems than its sister PGM palladium, managed only a $2.50 rise versus its previous New York close to be last at $421.50/$423.50. Palladium lease rates for one-month metal were last quoted at 200 percent, back towards the levels hit last June when London dealers stopped quoting forward prices for platinum and palladium, again because of Russian supply problems. Russia has failed to export fresh metal since last December, raising the prospect of a re-run of 1997's six-month supply freeze which paralysed the market and drove prices to now modest highs near $250 an ounce. ''It's the same old story -- the problem about the choice of the new Russian prime minister and whether or not there is a chance the parliament will approve him,'' said one Swiss dealer. The Russian Duma rejected Kiriyenko in its second vote on his candidacy last week. If he fails for a third time at Friday's scheduled vote, the assembly itself will face dissolution and snap elections. ''If Kiriyenko is rejected, everybody in the market thinks that this will delay exports and increase the squeeze on the market,'' the dealer said, adding that even at current prices, some physical trade is going on. ''There was some Swiss buying and borrowing has been marked up so the spot (price) is up on the back of it,'' said another dealer, who said price moves were exaggerated by the wide bid/offer spreads quoted and thin trade. ''You could put any number on it now, there's barely a market. I think everybody's got the stuff, which will accelerate the move on the way down when the Russians do actually deliver,'' he said. Palladium is used mainly in vehicle catalysts to help cut exhaust pollution as well as in the manufacture of electronics components and in dentistry. Gold's rise prompted questions by London dealers and analysts about whether it could be sustained by the underlying fundamentals of supply and demand. ''This is largely technically driven, on the back of the fact that the market did not break down below $306.00 last week,'' said one bullion dealer. ''It really ought to have gone down given the wind-down in silver. That it didn't was possibly because of the danger in selling a sleepy market,'' he added. Implied lease rates for gold, marking one-month at 0.94 percent according to London Bullion Market Association figures, were a sign of weak physical demand, a lack of forward selling by producers and thin speculative interest, said one analyst. Gold was last at $312.40/$312.90 versus its previous New York close of $310.60/$311.10 while silver was last unchanged at $6.31/$6.34. ____________ DRT