Gold founders in weak market

Denver — Falling consumer confidence kept a lid on financial markets, holding the Dow Jones industrial average to a 47.89-point (0.5%) gain during the report period ended Aug. 28 at 10,222.03, while a strong U.S. dollar held spot gold in check at US$272.30 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold issues were down, with a few bright spots in other commodities. Newmont Mining lost 22 to close at US$20.93; South Africa’s AngloGold sunk 41 to US$17.77; Nasdaq-listed Harmony Gold Mining shed 27 to US$4.78; Ghana’s Ashanti Goldfields slipped 13 to US$3.72 after Britain’s Lonmin confirmed it wasn’t interested in a merger; Homestake Mining dropped 18 to US$8.50; and mid-sized Meridian Gold picked up 8 to close at US$9.68.

Meanwhile, Phelps Dodge climbed $1.77 to US$40.04 as Comex copper perked up to US69 per lb.; class A and B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold added 30 and 38, respectively, to close at US$11.29 and US$12.40; BHP Billiton tacked on 64 to US$10.48; Australia’s WMC gained $1 to US$17.65; Southern Peru Copper advanced 65 to US$11.95; and Rio Tinto jumped $4.60 to US$71.70.

Anglo American Platinum surged $4.30 to US$38.50, sending Anglo American up $1.81 to US$14.58. New York Stock Exchange-listed Stillwater Mining slipped 81 to US$27.34.

Among the juniors, Royal Gold collapsed 72 to close at US$5.48 after riding high in July and August, and Crown Resources dropped 6 to US14 after defaulting on a US$15.4-million debenture payment.