U. S. MARKETS – OCT. 28 -NOV. 3

Have markets seen the bottom yet? We won’t know for a while yet, but the upward bounce during the Oct. 28-Nov. 3 trading session certainly looks convincing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,144 points, or 14%, to 9,320; the S&P 500 Index added 117 points, or 13.8%, to 966; and the Nasdaq moved up 220 points, or 14.6%, to 1,726. Precious metal equities jumped sharply, with the Amex Gold Bugs Index gaining 43 points, or 28.7%, to 195, and the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index climbing 17 points, or 26.1%, to 81.

Nickel prices jumped 18% during the week, after a Russian mine that supplies 5% of the country’s output closed. Despite this, nickel prices are down 50% from January, which will lead to further production cuts in the short term, according to TD Bank.

Patricia Mohr, vice-president of Scotia Economics, points out that in mid-October, potash prices were stable at US$865 per tonne in Vancouver, underpinned by a strike at three potash mines in Saskatchewan, as well as record low North American inventories and sold-out contract volumes at major potash suppliers. Moreover, China needs to restock potash, so Mohr concludes that the potash market will continue to be resilient, despite softness in some fertilizer markets.

Not so for bulk commodities. Spot prices for iron ore from India to China have dropped to US$67.50 from US$202.50 in March, while hard coking coal prices fell to US$220 per tonne in September from US$400 in July. Mohr forecasts that the global economy will grow by 2.5% in 2009, half the 5% growth rate in 2006-07, and China will grow by 8.3% next year compared to 9.8% this year.

Along with every other commodity, the uranium sector is down, with spot prices at US$45 per lb. uranium oxide from a high of US$136 last year. Some analysts say the price will rise from here. Uranium issues were mostly up during the session, with heavyweight Cameco rising US$3.44 to US$16.22, Denison Mines adding US22 to US$1.27, and Uranium Resources moving up US14 to US94, while Uranerz Energy lost a penny to US60.

U. S. most active issues
	VOLUME	WEEK
	(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Vale* RIO	227244	13.45	10.28	13.12	+ 3.01
Alcoa* AA	115669	11.88	9.00	11.50	+ 2.46
Freeport McMo*FCX	109293	30.59	23.00	29.06	+ 5.31
PotashCSask* POT	91259	88.75	61.69	85.26	+21.38
Goldcorp* GG	65338	20.88	14.51	18.66	+ 3.60
Barrick Gold* ABX	62803	24.45	17.93	22.74	+ 4.60
Mosaic* MOS	59842	40.00	25.18	39.41	+ 12.91
Peabody Enrgy* BTU	56595	35.30	24.68	34.51	+ 8.21
Kinross Gold* KGC	55475	11.35	7.66	10.43	+ 2.77
CoeurdAlene*CDE	52517	0.74	0.41	0.72	+0.31

U. S. greatest percentage change
		VOLUME	WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Allied Nevada*	ANV	103	3.45	1.65	3.45	+109.0
Caledonia Mng*	CALVF	781	0.06	0.05	0.06	+100.0
NWT Uranium*	NWURF	243	0.02	0.01	0.02	+100.0
Northern Dyn*	NAK	1928	3.74	1.80	3.50	+ 86.1
Almaden Mnls*	AAU	253	0.86	0.46	0.82	+ 78.2
Coeur d Alene*	CDE	52517	0.74	0.41	0.72	+ 75.6
Vista Gold*	VGZ	658	1.48	0.80	1.45	+ 74.7
Ur-Energy*	URG	83	0.52	0.35	0.52	+ 73.3
Midway Gold*	MDW	66	0.52	0.20	0.50	+ 72.4
Keegan Res*	KGN	56	0.85	0.36	0.68	+ 70.0
Colombia Gldf*	CGDF	2309	0.09	0.04	0.04	-42.8
Argentex Mng*	AGXM	248	0.23	0.15	0.16	-33.3
Madison Minls*	MMRSF	109	0.09	0.06	0.07	-30.0
Strata O&G*	SOIGF	526	0.25	0.12	0.16	-15.7
Brookmount Ex*	BMXI	30	0.08	0.05	0.08	-11.1
Silver Dragon*	SDRG	316	0.08	0.06	0.08	-11.1
Lundin Mng*	LMC	278	1.58	1.30	1.30	-10.9
Cardero Res*	CDY	593	1.66	1.24	1.35	-9.4
Contintl Mnls*	KMKCF	406	0.47	0.34	0.42	-8.7
Banro Res*	BAA	189	1.09	0.90	0.95	-7.7

U. S. greatest value change
WEEK
	VOLUME	CLOSE	CHANGE
Rio Tinto* RTP	3299191	185.87	+ 47.18
Potash C Sask* POT	91258597	85.26	+ 21.38
Mosaic* MOS	59841947	39.41	+ 12.91
Agrium* AGU	4545400	37.98	+ 10.65
Alpha Nat Res* ANR	16344420	35.77	+ 9.59
CONSOL Energy* CNX	37091998	31.39	+ 9.50
BHP Billi-BHP* BHP	28100834	38.88	+ 9.36
BHP Billi-BBL* BBL	6645390	34.33	+ 8.67
Peabody Enrgy* BTU	56594786	34.51	+ 8.21
Randgold Res* GOLD	3758153	31.01	+ 7.44
Solitario Res* XPL	89350	1.98	-0.16
Lundin Mng* LMC	277700	1.30	-0.16
Cardero Res* CDY	593109	1.35	-0.14
Banro Res* BAA	189415	0.95	-0.08
Argentex Mng* AGXM	248350	0.16	-0.08
Contintl Mnls* KMKCF	406470	0.42	-0.04
Paramount Gld* PZG	240511	0.36	-0.03
Madison Minls* MMRSF	108900	0.07	-0.03
Colombia Gldf* CGDF	2308687	0.04	-0.03
Strata O&G* SOIGF	525860	0.16	-0.03