Denver — The Dow Jones industrial average sank another 243.43 points, or 2.7%, to 8,659.64 during the report period ended Sept. 25 — its lowest level in four years. The Nasdaq settled at 1501.64.
The spot gold price on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange floated up to US$290.50, though most gold producers pulled back after the previous week’s gains. Newmont Mining slipped 40 to US$21.94 in heavy trading; AngloGold fell $1.03 to US$15.51; Homestake dropped 21 to US$8.53; Glamis Gold shed 49 to close at US$3.45; Ghana’s Ashanti Goldfields lost 55 to close at US$3.15; and Peru’s Compania de Minas Buenaventura was off 55 to US$21.45.
Comex copper held firm at US65 per lb., though producers tumbled. Phelps Dodge dropped $4.74 to a new low of US$29.20; BHP Billiton plunged $1.94 to US$8.06; Southern Peru Copper shed 76 to US$9.90; Class A and B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold slipped 15 and 60, respectively, to US$10 and US$10.70; Rio Tinto fell US$4.70 to close at US$58.20; and Anglo American hit a new low of US$11.18, down 17. Meanwhile, Apex Silver Mines dropped 95 to US$9.30, despite a strong move in silver. Stillwater Mining fell to a new low of US$21.10, down $1.65.
Junior companies seemed to fare better, with Canyon Resources rising 12 to US$1.10, Golden Star Resources jumping 11 to US66 as gold production began at Prestea in Ghana, and Nasdaq-listed Chief Consolidated Mining gaining 54 to reach US$2.44 as the Trixie mine in Utah began producing the yellow metal.
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