TSX Venture Exchange, April 8 – 12

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index followed commodities downward during the trading period, dropping 1.8%, or 19.24 points, en route to a 1,022.61-point weekly close.

Markets were hampered by ongoing uncertainty in the European Union — Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades will ask for more assistance from eurozone authorities — as well as falling commodity prices and a weak March employment report in the U.S.

Unemployment statistics in the U.S. provided some positive news, with citizens seeking unemployment benefits falling 42,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 345,000, compared to the expected 360,000.

Meanwhile, trade data from China suggested that manufacturers could increase buying activities, with the world’s second-largest economy posting an US$800-million trade deficit in March, as imports jumped 14%, compared to a 5% combined increase in January and February.

Gold tumbled during the week, impacting stocks across Canada’s junior mining sector, with June contracts for bullion dropping nearly 6%, or US$89.20, before closing out the week at US$1,482.65 per oz. Copper took a step back, with May contracts dropping US1.2¢, en route to a US$3.34 per lb. weekly close.

The energy sector also struggled after the International Energy Agency dropped this year’s global crude oil demand projection to 90.6 million barrels per day — a decline of 45,000 barrels daily. May contracts for crude oil dropped 2.8%, or US$2.61, before closing out the week at US$90.86 per barrel.

It was a particularly rough week for junior gold companies. Mexico-focused explorer Chesapeake Gold lost 64¢ during the period, dropping nearly 10% before closing the week at $6.15 per share. The company released a prefeasibility study on its gold-silver Metates gold project in Durango State, Mexico. Toronto-based Atacama Pacific Gold and its Cerro Maricunga oxide-associated gold project in Chile also struggled, with shares dropping 37¢, en route to a $1.59 weekly close.

The story was similar for Vancouver-based GoldQuest Mining, which released assay results from eight drill holes on its fully owned Las Tres Palmas gold trend in the Dominican Republic. GoldQuest lost 15¢ during the week before closing at 28¢ per share. The company has been down 55%, or 36¢ per share, since early January.

Though volume was a bit hard to come by on the Venture during the week, Vancouver-based Victoria Gold traded an active 5.3 million shares during the period and managed a 3¢ gain en route to a 24¢ per share close. The company continues to ride momentum following news that the Yukon government has moved its Eagle Gold project to the final permitting stages.

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