Gold and silver shares were the top performing sector in U.S. equity markets in mid-day trading on Monday as precious metals surged higher.
COMEX gold futures rallied $27.70, or 1.6%, to $1,783.80 per ounce, while silver added $0.53, or 1.6%, to $34.63 per ounce. Strength in precious metals came despite a modest 0.2% move higher in the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY).
The Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) jumped 1.9% to 212.97, while the S&P 500 Index slid 0.6% to 1,245.51 on renewed sovereign debt concerns across Europe.
With its rally, the XAU reached its highest level in over six weeks – since September 22. Furthermore, it has now climbed 24.3% since hitting a 52-week low of 171.27 on October 4th of this year.
Among gold producers, notable advancers included Gold Fields (GFI), Goldcorp (GG), and Newmont Mining (NEM) – with gains of 2.4%, 3.2%, and 1.5%, respectively.
Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) and Silver Wheaton (SLW), two of the XAU’s largest silver components, rose 4.9% and 1.3%, respectively.
West Kirkland Reports New Discovery at Kirkland Lake
* Due to the observation of coarse visible gold in the core and the high grade nature of some of the results, the Company is submitting select samples for metallic screen assays
* West Kirkland intends to begin drilling more than 2,000 meters to follow up on these results