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To: goldsnow who wrote (12570)	6/3/1998 6:33:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116796

Headline: Barrick Gold Postpones Shutdown Of Two Mines In Chile ====================================================================== SANTIAGO -(Dow Jones)- Canada's Barrick Gold Corp. said Wednesday it is postponing until the end of next year a decision on the closing down of its Chilean gold mines, El Indio and Tambo. The company (ABX) had previously announced that El Indio would shut down at the end of this year. A company official said Barrick also is putting off until the end of next year a decision on the closing down of its other Chilean mine, Tambo. The company had previously said Tambo would stop producing at the end of 1999. Barrick decided to extend the life of El Indio, and opened the possibility of doing the same with Tambo, after the mines produced "positive results in terms of costs and output" in the first quarter. During that period, El Indio produced 23,365 ounces, while Tambo's output totaled 41,211 ounces. Production costs at El Indio were $244 an ounce, from $329 an ounce in the year earlier. Tambo's costs were $289 an ounce, from $275 an ounce in the 1997 first quarter. The official said Barrick could decide to extend the lives of both mines beyond the end of 1999 if drilling tests being carried out find economically viable reserves, and gold prices see a strong rebound. -By Felipe Ossa; 56-2-638 7472 Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ------

To: goldsnow who wrote (12570)	6/3/1998 7:25:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116796

POLL-Euro seen firming in first few months of life 09:12 a.m. Jun 03, 1998 Eastern By David Stamp LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - The euro is likely to firm against the dollar in the first few months of its life as the ''Euroland'' economy revives and the U.S. slows, according to a Reuters poll released on Wednesday. But the new currency may have a choppy ride in its early stages as not only the European Central Bank (ECB) but also the entire monetary union tries to establish its credibility, analysts in leading financial centres said. Reuters monthly foreign exchange poll, in which 39 analysts predicted the euro's exchange rate, produced a median forecast for the new currency of $1.13 on January 4, 1999 -- its first trading day. The Ecu -- which will be switched over to the euro on a one-for-one basis -- was trading at around $1.11 on Wednesday. Thereafter analysts saw the euro climbing to $1.15 a year from now, or five months after the launch of economic and monetary union. The poll was taken on June 1 and 2. Much has been said about how the ECB, which held its first executive board meeting this week, may need to establish its anti-inflation credentials by raising interest rates in the first few months of EMU. But some respondents based their forecasts more on the relative performances of the U.S. and continental European economies. ''There's a cyclical issue between the U.S. and Europe. The U.S. economy should slow down and that of Europe should speed up again,'' said Michael Wallace, European manager of foreign exchange analysis at Standard and Poor's MMS in London. Monetary tightening is likely to happen even before EMU starts in the core countries led by Germany. Financial markets widely expect the Bundesbank to raise German interest rates as the 11 founder members seek to converge before the EMU launch. Opinions are divided over when the German central bank will move. Some expect a rate rise soon but Wallace forecast it would come later in the year as the Bundesbank pressured peripheral countries with higher rates, such as Ireland and Spain, to lower their rates for convergence. He saw the German repo rate rising to 3.6 percent from 3.3 now. Wallace, who forecast the euro at $1.15 at its launch and $1.18 a year from now, said that the ECB's reputation was not the only issue at stake. ''It will take some time to establish credibility, in broad terms for the project itself, not just the ECB,'' he said. A key issue is the ECB's relationship with the Euro-11 council, comprising finance ministers from the launch countries. Markets are watching for any political meddling in monetary policy, even though the ECB is officially independent and its executive board is packed with anti-inflation hawks. With EMU uncertainties lingering, the first weeks of euro trading may be volatile. ''At the launch it could be a bit choppy,'' said Wallace. Not all respondents agreed the euro would rise from the launch and CSFB forecast it would slip from $1.08 at the launch to $1.05 a year from now. ''The view is that structurally the dollar is the strong currency in the world economy and that is going to persist for the foreseeable future,'' said Sean Shepley, currency strategist at CSFB. He cited the fact that the United States had made more progress towards balancing its budget than European countries, while U.S. companies were more competitive than their European counterparts. Europe may also be hit more by the crises in emerging markets, notably Asia, than the United States because it is relying more on exports to drive economic growth rather than domestic demand. Shepley also questioned whether the ECB would raise rates purely to show its credibility. ''That's only correct if the macroeconomic circumstances justify it,'' said Shepley. ''Should the ECB be running monetary policy to run the European economy into the ground?'' Europe still had plenty of potential to grow without inflation becoming a problem, he said, adding that the bias was for European rates to stay low. But he agreed that the EMU launch would be an interesting time. ''There will be quite a bit of choppiness in the early period,'' he said. Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.