Gold and silver shares added to their weekly gains on Thursday, with the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) rising 0.5% to a one-month high of 194.04. The modest strength in gold and silver stocks came as precious metals held onto fractional gains this afternoon.
COMEX gold futures advanced $6.30, or 0.4%, to $1,645.90 per ounce, while silver futures rose $0.14, or 0.4%, to $30.02 per ounce. The metals were boosted by weakness in the U.S. Dollar Index, which slid 0.6% to 80.79 against a basket of the world’s most-traded currencies.
One of the top performing gold miners on Thursday was Yamana Gold (AUY), which jumped 3.6% to $15.81 per share after announcing full-year 2011 production of 1.1 million gold equivalent ounces. The Canadian-based gold company also issued 2012 guidance of 1.2-1.3 million gold equivalent ounces.
Following the release of Yamana’s results, Scotia Capital analyst Tanya Jakusconek reiterated her Sector Perform rating and $19.00 price target on AUY. In her note to clients, Jakusconek highlighted that Yamana’s 2011 production figures and 2012 forecast were in-line with Scotia’s estimates.
Other notable gold stocks in positive territory included Goldcorp (GG) and Harmony Gold (HMY), which added 1.4% and 0.6%, respectively.
Among silver shares, Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) and Silver Wheaton (SLW) advanced 0.8% and 1.5%, respectively.
Canaco Expands Mineralization at Magambazi Gold Discovery
* 23.8m grading 2.80 g/t of gold at hole MGZD337
* 8.0m grading 4.05 g/t of gold at hole MGZD224
