Gold Futures Climb $21, Eye Key Technical Level

Tuesday, December 20, 2011, 3:57pm EST Written by GoldAlert Staff.

Gold futures settled substantially higher on Tuesday as the COMEX February 2012 contract climbed $20.90, or 1.3%, to $1,617.60 per ounce. Weakness in the U.S. dollar helped fuel the rally in gold futures, as well as the broader commodities complex.

Looking ahead, BNP Paribas strategist Anne-Laure Tremblay wrote in a note to clients that “The afternoon rally in risky assets and gold seems to have been spurred by better-than-expected U.S. housing data, which in turn further pushed the U.S. dollar lower…The rebound in the gold price could prompt some short-covering, and we could retest the 200-day moving average (just above $1,621 per ounce) in the coming days.”

Silver futures finished sharply higher as well, as the COMEX February 2012 contract advanced $0.66, or 2.3%, to $29.54 per ounce.

Platinum for January 2012 delivery rose $19.30, or 1.4%, to $1,432.90 per ounce, while March palladium jumped $10.90, or 1.8%, to $628.60 per ounce.

Claude Resources Completes Sale of Nokomis Interest

CLAUDE RESOURCES (CRJ.TSX, CGR: AMEX) announced the completion of its sale of its 46% interest in the Nokomis property to Auriga Gold Corp, which was previously announced on November 3, 2011. Prior to the acquisition, Auriga Gold held a 54% interest in the Nokomis property, which is contiguous to the Puffy Lake Property, part of the Maverick Gold Project. The 2,200 hectare, Nokomis property comprises 39 staked claims and is located less than 8 kilometers northeast of the Puffy Lake Mill, near Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada. Full Claude Resources Press Release.

Highlights:

* Under the terms of agreement, Auriga Gold has agreed to issue to Claude 3.4 million common shares of Auriga Gold at an issue price of C$0.35 per share

* The shares represent approximately 7.8% of Auriga Gold’s outstanding common shares

* The issued shares will be subject to a hold period of four months from November 14, 2011

CLAUDE VS. S&P500, XAU

Neil McMillan, Claude’s President and CEO:

“This disposition is consistent with Claude’s strategy to streamline our property portfolio while maintaining upside to project success via participation in Auriga Gold shares."

Paolo Lostritto, National Bank Financial:

“We reiterate our Outperform rating and C$3.30 target on Claude Resources shares...Catalysts continue to be:1) Madsen underground drill results, 2) Seabee shaft deepening coupled with Santoy ramp up, and 3) more Amisk drilling."

INTERACTIVE CLAUDE RESOURCES CHART

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Gold Futures Climb $21, Eye Key Technical Level

Claude Resources Completes Sale of Nokomis Interest