Gold futures advanced for the first time in four trading days despite modest strength in the U.S. dollar. COMEX gold for April delivery came well off its intra-day high of $1,739.20 per ounce, but still managed to settle with a gain of $10.40, or 0.6%, at $1,728.10 per ounce.
The yellow metal initially fell to as low as $1,722.00 as the U.S. dollar rallied against a basket of foreign currencies, but bounced back in late afternoon trading.
Silver futures tracked gold on Wednesday, rising to $33.975 per ounce in morning trading, subsequently falling to $33.10, and closing with a small gain of $0.06, or 0.2%, at $33.41 per ounce.
Gold and silver shares did not fare as well as precious metals, however, as the sector was dragged down by the broader equity markets. The Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) closed lower by 0.4% at 190.34, while the S&P 500 slid 0.5% to 1,343.23.
Notable gold miners moving lower included AngloGold Ashanti (AU) and Gold Fields (GFI), which fell 3.8% and 0.6%, respectively.
Pan American Silver (PAAS) and Silver Standard Resources (SSRI), two widely-held silver stocks, dropped 0.4% and 1.1%, respectively.
Spanish Mountain Discovers New Gold Zone at Flagship Property
- 92.46 m grading 0.58 gram per tonne (g/t) gold including 7.50m grading 4.12 g/t gold in Hole 11-CCR-030
- 55.40 m grading 0.82 g/t gold and a second interval of 47.50 m grading 0.35 g/t gold in Hole 11-CCR-023
- 56.71 m grading 0.50 g/t gold in Hole 11-CCR-021
- 15.75 m grading 0.48 g/t gold at bottom of hole in Hole 11-CCR-003
