Gold futures stabilized Thursday following three consecutive days of sharp declines. Although the COMEX February 2012 contract settled lower by $9.70, or 0.6%, at $1,577.20 per ounce, the yellow metal oscillated between positive and negative territory throughout the day. Furthermore, the spot price of gold remained higher this afternoon, due to the fact that yesterday’s closing spot price was well below the COMEX closing level.
In contrast to gold, COMEX silver futures climbed $0.34, or 1.2%, to $29.27 per ounce. Silver bounced back from three straight days of losses, but remained lower by over 9% this week alone.
Other precious metals were mixed as well, with platinum falling $19.30, or 1.4%, to $1,407.00 per ounce and palladium rising $1.05, or 0.2%, to $620.65 per ounce.
Among cyclical commodities, copper inched lower by $0.01 to $3.27 per pound while crude oil retreated $1.08, or 1.1%, to $93.87 per barrel.
Gold and silver stocks remained under pressure again today, with the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) lower by 1.1% at 180.49 in afternoon trading. Precious metals equities continued to lag the broader markets, as the S&P 500 Index remained higher by 0.3% at 1,215.35.
Mines Management’s Montanore Project Receives Safety Award
- 7,200 feet of underground rehabilitation and dewatering in the Libby Evaluation Adit has been completed at Montanore, as well as construction of infrastructure and surface facilities at the site
- A Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) was recently completed by the U.S. Forest Service for the Montanore Project, a significant step forward in the final phase of the permitting process
- Montanore is one of the ten largest undeveloped silver resources in the world. The Project contains in-situ mineralization estimated at more than 230 million silver ounces and nearly 2 billion copper pounds