U.S. MARKETS January 3-7

The first trading week of the New Year saw the Dow Jones industrial average edge up 97.25 points to 11,674.76 while the S&P 500 index rose 13.86 points to 1,271.50. The Nasdaq composite was up 50.3 points to 2,703.17. Twenty-seven miners on U.S. exchanges reached new 52-week highs with none sinking to new 52-week lows.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan topped the list of value gains jumping US$12.09 per share to close the period at US$166.92, on no news. The potash giant will release fourth quarter and year-end earnings on Jan. 27.
Colder temperatures and devastating floods in Queensland continue to wreak havoc on the coal industry in Australia, pushing up the shares of many coal producers with operations in North America. Central Appalachian coal producer Alpha Natural Resources claimed the week’s second-highest value gain with an advance of US$5.22 per share to US$65.25. Patriot Coal, with mining operations in Appalachia and the Illinois basin, claimed the third spot with an increase of US$3.82 to US$23.19. Massey Energy rose US$2.46 to US$56.11, despite news on Jan. 5 of a 1.4-million-ton shortfall in fourth quarter coal shipments largely due to lower than anticipated production, inconsistent rail service and delays of export shipments at the ports. Consol Energy, the largest producer of high-BTU bituminous coal in the United States, gained US$2.16 to US$50.90.
With rising demand from China supporting iron ore prices, Cliffs Natural Resources performed well, climbing US$3.32 to US$81.33 per share. Reuters reported that China’s iron ore imports in December 2010 increased 1.2% over November to 58.08 million tonnes, the highest increase in nine months. “Chinese steel mills, the biggest buyers of the world’s iron ore, have been replenishing stocks of the steelmaking raw material ahead of the Lunar New Year in February, with stronger steel prices also supporting the buying binge,” the news agency reported on Jan. 10.
On the negative side of the ledger, the Philadelphia Gold and Silver index fell 15.28 points or 6.7% to 211.30 and many precious metals companies sank with it. Agnico-Eagle Mines dropped US$6.27 to US$70.43, while Silver Wheaton fell US$5.53 to US$33.51.

U.S. most active issues
    VOLUME    WEEK
    (000s)    HIGH    LOW    CLOSE    CHANGE
Alcoa*    AA    238159    16.72    15.78    16.42    +    1.03
Hecla Mining*    HL    80008    11.56    9.70    10.02    –    1.24
Silver Wheatn*    SLW    73019    40.00    32.87    33.51    –    5.53
Rare Elemt Re*    REE    58180    17.92    13.56    14.70    –    1.36
Barrick Gold*    ABX    56058    53.93    48.69    49.10    –    4.08
Freeport McMo*    FCX    52613    122.50    115.05    117.47    –    2.62
Intl Coal Gp*    ICO    51366    8.92    7.66    8.59    +    0.85
Newmont Mng*    NEM    47162    62.21    56.38    56.89    –    4.54
Mosaic*    MOS    35324    78.68    73.40    76.29    –    0.07
Kinross Gold*    KGC    34666    19.26    17.30    17.52    –    1.44

U.S. greatest percentage change
    VOLUME    WEEK
    (000s)    HIGH    LOW    CLOSE    CHANGE
Commerce Grp*    CGCO    101    0.06    0.02    0.03    +    50.0
Infrastrc Mat*    IFAM    61    0.25    0.23    0.23    +    27.7
Vista Gold*    VGZ    7512    3.33    2.39    2.99    +    25.1
El Capitan Pr*    ECPN    1478    0.85    0.62    0.85    +    25.0
Yellowcake Mg*    YCKM    508    0.08    0.05    0.05    +    25.0
Habanero Res*    HBNRF    200    0.11    0.10    0.11    +    22.2
Constittn Mng*    CMIN    1947    0.18    0.15    0.17    +    21.4
Patriot Coal*    PCX    8563    23.36    19.68    23.19    +    19.7
Gold Am Mng*    SILA    2175    0.37    0.28    0.32    +    18.5
SinoCoking Cl*    SCOK    6369    13.95    11.21    13.88    +    15.9
Silver Dragon*    SDRG    1555    0.15    0.09    0.09    –    30.7
Global Gold*    GBGD    183    0.24    0.16    0.19    –    24.0
Crosshair E&M*    CXZ    724    2.65    1.95    2.00    –    20.6
Tri-Valley*    TIV    6525    0.62    0.45    0.46    –    19.3
New Jersey Mg*    NJMC    60    0.30    0.27    0.27    –    18.1
Linux Gold*    LNXGF    576    0.06    0.04    0.05    –    16.6
Shoshone Silv*    SHSH    159    0.20    0.14    0.16    –    15.7
Minco Gold*    MGH    2928    2.91    2.27    2.31    –    15.3
Cardero Res*    CDY    3015    2.36    1.79    1.95    –    15.2
Alexco Res*    AXU    3711    8.48    6.79    6.98    –    14.7

U.S. greatest value change
        WEEK
    VOLUME    CLOSE    CHANGE
Potash C Sas
k*    POT    28174731    166.92    +    12.09
Alpha Nat Res*    ANR    22393425    65.25    +    5.22
Patriot Coal*    PCX    8563440    23.19    +    3.82
Cliffs Nat Rs*    CLF    22172966    81.33    +    3.32
Mechel*    MTL    4771761    32.34    +    3.11
Alliance Rs P*    ARLP    530296    68.83    +    3.07
Massey Energy*    MEE    25657002    56.11    +    2.46
Consol Energy*    CNX    21855258    50.90    +    2.16
SinoCoking Cl*    SCOK    6369118    13.88    +    1.91
Natural Rs Pt*    NRP    336893    35.04    +    1.84
Agnico-Eagle*    AEM    17813409    70.43    –    6.27
Silver Wheatn*    SLW    73018839    33.51    –    5.53
Royal Gold*    RGLD    3033971    49.92    –    4.60
Newmont Mng*    NEM    47161843    56.89    –    4.54
BHP Billi-BHP*    BHP    12462998    88.42    –    4.50
Pan Am Silver*    PAAS    8763872    36.79    –    4.42
AngloGold Ash*    AU    14330407    44.82    –    4.41
ASA (Bermuda)*    ASA    535283    30.41    –    4.31
Barrick Gold*    ABX    56057994    49.10    –    4.08
Silver Std Re*    SSRI    6471842    24.34    –    3.88