Dow Jones edges up slightly

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up a meager 12.73 points, to close at 10,739.92 for the report period July 12-18.

Mining companies were mixed as spot gold languished, holding at US$282.50 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Newmont Mining lost $1.44 to close at US$19.44, while Homestake Mining dipped 31 to US$6.25. Ghana’s Ashanti Goldfields climbed 12 to US$1.81.

Gold Fields of South Africa, the parent company to the gold producer, shed most of its value, falling US$1.22 to 12 on heavy Nasdaq trading. The company is distributing its assets as a dividend to its shareholders and eventually will cease to exist.

Copper prices edged up to US84 per lb. on the Comex, though producers took a tumble. Phelps Dodge dropped $1.06 to close at US$38.69; Australia’s Broken Hill Proprietary lost US$1.44 to close at US$21.56; Southern Peru Copper dipped 44 to close at US$11.81; and London-based Rio Tinto fell $1.25 to US$66. Class B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold hit a new low of US$8.62, down 76, after posting a second-quarter loss of 12 per share.

Silver miner Coeur d’Alene Mines bounced off last week’s low, climbing 12 to US$2.06, though Hecla Mining fell to a fresh low of US88, down 6.

De Beers Consolidated Mines jumped $1.44 to US$26.56, while Anglo American picked up a buck to close at US$51.62. Platinum miner Stillwater Mining fell $1.56 to US$27, while Nasdaq junior Royal Gold lost 26 to close at US$2.62.