Precious metals posted strong gains Tuesday on the back of weakness in the U.S. dollar and broad-based gains in the commodities complex.
COMEX gold futures, per the February 2012 contract, finished higher by $23.40, or 1.5%, at $1,631.50 per ounce – its highest settlement since December 13, 2010 – exactly four weeks ago. The yellow metal reached an intra-day high of $1,641.40 at approximately 9:05am ET, but pared its gains as the U.S. Dollar Index came off its intra-day low.
Silver climbed in concert with gold futures, as the COMEX February 2012 contract closed up $1.03, or 3.6%, at $29.82 per ounce. This morning silver jumped to as high as $30.31 per ounce, but also pared its gains in afternoon trading.
Gold and silver shares were bolstered by the metals as well, with the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) surging 2.4% to 192.50. The broader equity markets maintained the large majority of their gains, as the S&P 500 Index was higher by 1.0% at 1,293.33.
Other precious metals finished firmly in positive territory, with platinum up 2.5% to $1,464.60 per ounce and palladium up 2.8% to $635.20 per ounce.
Among cyclical commodities, copper advanced 2.8% to $3.51 per pound and crude oil rose 0.9% to $102.24 per barrel.
Klondex Mines Appoints New VP, Exploration
* He has previously held positions at Freeport McMoRan, Minorco USA/Independence Mining, Kinross Gold, Queenstake Resources USA, Granges US (now Vista Gold) and most recently, Victoria Gold
* Mr. Whilton helped discover seven ore deposits with over 16 million ounces of gold that were developed into mines in northern Nevada and in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia, as well as three gold deposits awaiting development
* He fulfills the requirements of a “Qualified Person” as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has authored or co-authored several NI 43-101 Technical Reports for gold and uranium projects
