AP; Gold Holds Steady At $1,120 Despite Stronger US Dollar, Silver And Platinum Climb
Gold prices were at about the same level as yesterday with the yellow metal holding steady at around US$1,120/oz. Other precious metals slightly improved with silver and platinum reaching US$17.90/oz and US$1,536/oz respectively.
Gold stabilized at the current level after bouncing back from yesterday’s falls despite a stronger US Dollar as Tuesday’s decline spurred demand for precious metals.
Holdings in the world’s largest exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust fell to 1,128.75 metric tonnes on Monday, marking a decline of 4.87 metric tonnes from the end of 2009.
Major mining stocks were mixed today. In the FTSE 100, gold miner Randgold Resources (LSE: RRS) was flat, while silver producer Fresnillo (LSE: FRES) posted a marginal gain and platinum miner Lonmin (LSE: LMI) shed almost 1%.
Midcaps were in decline. Gold miner Petropavlovsk (LSE: POG) was at the bottom of the pile with a 2% loss, while Aquarius Platinum (LSE: AQP) and silver producer Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC) declined marginally.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia operating gold explorer KEFI Minerals (AIM: KEF) was one of the top performers among the small caps with a 6% gain. Lesotho operating diamond miner Kopane Diamond Developments (AIM: KDD) and Fiji focused gold miner Vatukoula Gold Mines (AIM: VGM) followed, advancing 4%.
