Precious metals turned lower in late morning trading on Thursday, while the broader equity indices recovered a portion of yesterday’s large sell-off.
Gold futures dropped from $1,615 to as low as $1,606.40 per ounce, while silver fell from $40.20 to $39.41 per ounce, as investors sold precious metals following a better than expected report on pending home sales. In June, pending homes sales rose 2.4%, well north of the 3.0% decline expected by economists.
Following the encouraging housing data, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) advanced 48.55 points, or 0.4%, to 12,351.10 and the S&P 500 Index rose 7.59 points, or 0.6%, to 1,312.48.
Cyclical commodities posted modest gains, with crude oil adding 0.2% to $97.59 per barrel and copper gaining 0.6% to $4.47 per pound.
Gold and silver shares tumbled alongside precious metals, as the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) dropped 1.9% to 208.34. With its decline, the XAU extended its weekly and year-to-date losses to 5.5% and 8.1%, respectively.
In the currency markets, the euro slid 0.4% to 1.4317 against the U.S. dollar.
San Gold Posts Record Gold Production
Gold production in the second quarter of 2011 benefited from approximately 80% of the milled tonnage being sourced from the generally lower cost and higher grade Hinge and 007 mines. San Gold noted that the Hinge and 007 mines are expected to continue to be the primary source of ore at the Company's Rice Lake Mill for the foreseeable future. Full San Gold Press Release.
