Gold and silver futures turned sharply lower Wednesday morning as the U.S. dollar rallied against a basket of the world’s leading currencies.
COMEX gold for February 2012 delivery dropped $23.20, or 1.5%, to $1,572.30 per ounce, while silver futures tumbled $1.27, or 4.4%, to $27.47 per ounce.
Earlier this morning precious metals traded only fractionally in the red, but extended their losses as the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) climbed 0.6% to 80.323. The greenback’s advance coincided with weakness in the euro currency, which retreated 0.9% to 1.2949 against the dollar.
The sell-off in precious metals put further pressure on gold and silver stocks, as the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) sunk 2.3% to 178.42 – its lowest level since October 5th of this year. Among gold producers, Barrick Gold (ABX) fell $0.99, or 2.2%, to $44.51 per share and Newmont Mining (NEM) declined $0.95, or 1.6%, to $60.42 per share.
As for silver companies, Pan American Silver (PAAS) dropped $0.83, or 3.8%, to $21.07 per share and Silver Wheaton (SLW) slid $0.77, or 2.7%, to $28.13 per share.
The U.S. dollar’s advance also pressured the broader equity markets, although its losses were considerably less than precious metals shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) retreated 79.39 points, or 0.7%, to 12,211.96 while the S&P 500 Index declined 9.57 points, 0.8% to 1,255.86.
Aurizon Mines Advances Duvay Gold Project
- The current field operations at Duvay are centered around a mini-bulk sampling program and drilling
- The first two pit sample concentrates have been shipped to an independent laboratory for analysis by fire assay; processing of the third mini-bulk sample has commenced
- Results from the first 13 hole drill program included the intersection of 83.19 grams per tonne of gold over 1.0 meters.
