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Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: long-gone who wrote (25017)	12/29/1998 9:10:00 AM
From: GOLDFINGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116766

PaulM, I believe that more and more analysts are becoming positive on gold for the coming year. But I still have one problem : which gold mine to choose ? I have looked on the internet for a kind of table with a comparison between different (American, Canadian, Australian and South-African) gold mines, their production costs, their hedging (at what price and for how long), their proven reserves, their cash, etc... Has anybody of you have an idea where I can find this ? Thanks for your suggestions. GF.

To: long-gone who wrote (25017)	12/29/1998 5:44:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116766

By Michael Byrnes 03:21 a.m. Dec 29, 1998 Eastern By Michael Byrnes SYDNEY, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Australia, which relies on exports of gold for billion of dollars in annual revenues, on Tuesday warned that European monetary union could depress international bullion prices. The new euro currency to be introduced on Friday could prompt some European central banks to sell off bullion reserves not required to help establish the new European Central Bank, according to a government report. If correct, the report would confirm every gold bug's biggest fear -- that thousands of tonnes of gold amassed over the years by some of Europe's biggest central banks were up for sale. The report by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), said monetary union may create a surplus in gold holdings in European national central banks. Gold already has lost much its lustre for investors as a barrage of interest rate cuts around the world continue to keep inflation at bay, leaving bullion wallowing below US$300 an ounce. The threat of an en masse bullion sell off by central banks more inclined to hold alternative assets is a constant cloud over the gold market. With some exceptions, so far most central banks have largely kept their reserves intact, preferring to ''lease'' gold to investors rather than sell it outright. And analysts doubt the banks would act irresponsibly and just dump gold on an unsuspecting market. Subdued gold trading left gold little changed at around US$287 an ounce in holiday-affected Australian and Asian markets on Tuesday. But the European holdings would become a market focus when bullion dealers returned to their desks in full force next week, a senior Australian bullion dealer told Reuters. The market view was that European central banks would re-examine their gold reserves after the launch of the euro, the dealer said. The DFAT study highlighted gold for possible effects from the January 1 introduction of the ''euro zone'' among eleven of the EMU's 15 member countries. ''Although uncoordinated sales (of gold) are not expected it is reasonable to assume that the notional surpluses will have an influence on the price of gold in the long run,'' the study said. DFAT said EMU may create a surplus of gold holdings in European national central banks since the amount of the metal they are required to transfer to the European Central Bank (ECB) is less than their current holdings. The ECB has called for 15 percent of its reserve assets to be held in gold. After contributing required shares to the ECB, national central banks in the euro zone would have about 10,000 tonnes of gold notionally ''surplus'' to reserve requirements, it said. This was equivalent to 4.5 years' annual world gold production or about double annual world consumption, DFAT said. Much speculation remained about what national central banks of the 11 members of the euro zone would do with surplus reserves after January 1, DFAT said. ''Currently EU country national central banks account for around 40 percent of the world's central bank holdings of gold so their decisions on whether to sell even small parts of their reserves could have a major impact on the global market,'' it said. While greater co-operation was expected among European central banks on gold sale policy than in the past 20 years, policy had not yet been fully developed by the ECB or made public, it said. At the end of 1997 European countries accounted for eight of the world's top 12 gold hoarders. ''Even assuming national central banks refrain from accelerated major sales of gold in the near future, it is reasonable to assume that their post-euro gold surpluses will have an influence on the price of gold in the long-run,'' DFAT said. Australia is the world's third largest producer of gold behind South Africa and the United States. Last fiscal year 316 tonnes of the precious metal was mined in Australia, bringing in A$6.24 billion (US3.81 billion) in export revenue. The Australian central bank's own hoard of bullion was largely depleted last year when it sold off 167 tonnes, or two thirds of its reserves, to buy foreign currencies and other ''paper investments.'' The euro conversion rate will be fixed on January 1, with the euro becoming legal tender for non-cash exchanges. The ECB also will become operational on that date. The euro zone will initially include the 15 EMU countries apart from Britain, Sweden, Denmark and Greece. EMU was likely to have modest overall implications for Australia in the short-term, the DFAT study said. (A$1 - US$0.61) Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.

To: long-gone who wrote (25017)	12/29/1998 6:53:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116766

Russia hit by low oil price but sees no conspiracy 08:09 a.m. Dec 29, 1998 Eastern By Sebastian Alison MOSCOW, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Russia is suffering badly from low oil prices but does not believe in a conspiracy theory which alleges some big producers are holding prices down to squeeze marginal producers, a fuel ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. ''Currently there is talk of such a conspiracy going round, but the Minister of Fuel and Energy thinks there is little likelihood of such a plot,'' the spokesman to the minister, Sergei Generalov, told Reuters. ''As far as Saudi Arabia, which has already been forced to revise its state budget three times this year is concerned, it's very unlikely that it's done this deliberately,'' he added. Oil prices have been hovering around 12 year lows in recent months, and all producers are suffering. Russia is awash with conspiracy theories which say low-cost producers like Saudi Arabia are happy to see low prices for a while, as this would force high-cost producers such as Russia to scale back output and boost market share for cheaper producers. Tuesday's Izvestiya newspaper said a prolonged period of low prices would give a major edge to oil exporters in the Arab world and Latin America over northern competitors. ''If the price continues its fall for another year or two, then the bulk of Russian and northern European oil fields in Norway and Britain will become unprofitable. Wells will have to be shut in,'' the paper said. ''To put these wells back into production will demand significant investments, which Russia does not have,'' it added. Russia is the world's third largest oil producer, producing around six million barrels per day this year. Oil and gas exports made up 48 percent of all its hard currency export earnings last year, easily the biggest sector of the economy. But the distance of its oil producing heartland in western Siberia from international markets makes its production expensive, and so particularly vulnerable to price slides. Eugene Khartukov of Moscow's International Centre for Petroleum Business Studies said the cost of delivering Siberian crude to Europe's main oil trading hub at Rotterdam was up to $8.00 per barrel. This was made up of production costs of around $4.00 per barrel, including ''social costs'' -- the costs of providing services to employees and their families in remote areas -- and excise duties of around $0.35 per barrel. Other costs included transit through the Russian pipeline network at around $1.50 per barrel; transit costs across Belarus and Latvia to the oil terminal of Ventspils, and the port fee at Ventspils, totalling some $0.80 per barrel. The final element, he said, was the freight cost of some $0.90 per barrel from Ventspils to Rotterdam, giving a combined total of at least $7.20, and often higher depending on variable factors such as the freight cost. Russian Urals export blend crude was assessed at below $9.50 per barrel on a delivered Rotterdam basis on Tuesday, meaning margins are already wafer-thin at current prices. If prices dip further, the margins could become negative. Kuwaiti oil minister Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Sabah warned on Monday that prices could drop to $5 per barrel if big producers did not scale back production. Even at this price Saudi oil would still be profitable, explaining why some see a Saudi conspiracy. Khartukov said Saudi Arab Light crude cost no more than $1.00 per barrel to produce and some $1.10 per barrel to ship from the Gulf to Rotterdam, giving a delivered cost of little over $2.00 per barrel -- a quarter of Russia's cost. But Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi has consistently denied pursuing a low price policy, asking reporters recently: ''How can reasonable people come to that conclusion?'' ((Moscow Newsroom, +7095 941-8520 moscow.newsroom+reuters.com)) Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.