Precious metals were mixed on Wednesday despite a slight rise in the U.S. dollar against a composite of foreign currencies.
COMEX gold futures – per the February contract – settled lower by $6.50, or 0.4%, at $1,686.70 per ounce. Silver futures fared quite better, however, as the COMEX March contract finished higher by $0.26, or 0.8%, at $32.44 per ounce. In doing so, silver posted its seventh consecutive daily advance.
While the two most widely-traded precious metals closed in opposite directions today, most gold and silver stocks remained firmly in negative territory this afternoon as the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) dropped by 2.5% to 160.05.
Notable XAU components moving lower included AngloGold Ashanti (AU), New Gold (NGD), and Pan American Silver (PAAS). Shares of AU retreated by 1.7% to $29.12, NGD by 3.4% to $10.46, and PAAS by 1.7% to $18.50.
As for the U.S. Dollar Index, it inched up by 0.1% to 79.931 against a basket of currencies that included the euro, yen, and pound.
Other metals finished in the red alongside gold. Copper futures fell by 0.6% to $3.685 per pound, platinum by 0.4% to $1,691.80 per ounce, and palladium by 0.5% to $726.20 per ounce.
Fortuna Silver Delivers 6th Straight Year of Production Growth
- Silver and gold production was 8% and 19% above 2012 production guidance respectively
- Silver production of 4.0 million ounces; 59% increase over 2011
- Gold production of 20,699 ounces; 195% increase over 2011
- Estimated consolidated cash cost per ounce of silver, net of by-product credits, is $6.38
