Gold and silver futures swung between positive and negative territory on Monday amid a relatively quiet start to the week for precious metals. The stability in gold and silver coincided with tepid activity in the U.S. dollar, which held near unchanged against a composite of foreign currencies including the euro, yen, and pound.
COMEX gold futures – per the December contract – settled lower by $1.80, or 0.1%, at $1,749.60 per ounce. COMEX silver futures for December delivery inched up by $0.02, or 0.1%, to $34.14 per ounce.
As for gold and silver stocks, the sector tracked the broader equity market indices. The Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) fell by as much as 1.9% to 171.03 this morning, but later recouped for than half its loss and was lower by only 0.7% at 173.14 this afternoon.
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Notable XAU components underperforming the index included Goldcorp (GG) and Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) – which dropped by 1.2% to $40.87 and by 1.1% to $14.07 per share, respectively.
Alternatively, Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) advanced by 0.8% to $56.91 while Harmony Gold (HMY) rose by 0.9% to 48.22 per share.
The S&P 500 Index pared its decline as well, rising from an intra-day low of 1,397.68 to trade down by only 0.4% at 1,404.10 this afternoon.
Fortuna Silver Mines Generates 30% Increase in Cash Flow
Fortuna also announced that at its San Jose mine in Mexico, the expansion of the processing plant to its design capacity and construction of an off-site dore plant in the coming year will contribute substantially to the Company’s profit margins. Furthermore, the Mines and Energy Ministry granted the construction permit for a new tailings facility at its Caylloma mine in Peru, now scheduled to be commissioned at the end of November 2012. Full Fortuna Silver Press Release
- Revenue of $43.84 million, a 35% increase over the prior year period
- Silver production of 1,027,741 million ounces, a 56% rise over Q3 2011
- Gold production of 5,348 ounces, 251% above the prior year period
- Cash cost per silver ounce, net of by-product credits, was US$4.81
