May has not been kind to the metals market. The upheaval in Europe caused many investors to cut positions in gold and silver to try and stabilize their losses in both the equity and forex markets. In the short term the uncertainty is expected to temper any gold rally but long-term it could serve as a catalyst because it would force central banks back into printing to shore up any liquidity crunch.
Domestically the macro data emerging today points to a recovery that really isn’t a recovery. Jobless claims inched closer to 400k, coming in at 388k. ADP numbers also showed a slowing private sector growth trajectory. All of this is on the backdrop of Europe which seems to be unable to figure out a sustainable solution to the banking and sovereign debt issues.
A current snapshot of gold and silver has gold prices down $4.70 to $1557 per ounce. Silver is following gold’s volatile lead, down 8 cents to $27.85 per ounce.
Gold and Silver Stocks
Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) is down 0.74% this morning at $8.10. KGC has seen nearly 600 thousand shares traded in the first half hour of trading and trades 9.9 million shares a day on average. KGC was trading as high as $8.30 shortly after market open before selling off. The company has a market cap of 9.32 billion.
Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM) is down 1.17% today at $47.28. NEM has traded 593 thousand shares so far today and trades 7.5 million shares a day on average. NEM shares are down from $49 this week. The company has a market cap of 23.80 billion.
Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE:GFI) is down 0.13% this morning at $13.31. GFI has traded 578 thousand shares in early trading and trades 3.8 million shares a day on average. GFI shares are up around $0.40 a share the past two days. The company has a market cap of 9.71 billion.
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) is down 0.92% this morning at $38.71. ABX has traded 498 thousand shares so far today and trades 8.5 million shares a day on average. ABX shares are up close to $1 a share from yesterday’s low of around $38. The company has a market cap of 39.28 billion.
Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE:SLW) is down 1.18% today at $25.95. SLW has traded 774 thousand shares so far today and trades 5.7 million shares a day on average. SLW shares were trading as high as $26.66, but has sold off with the market following poor economic data. The company has a market cap of 9.2 billion.
Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE:HL) is down 2.07% today at $4.26. HL has traded 521 thousand shares so far today and trades 5.5 million shares a day on average. HL shares are down $0.20 from Tuesday’s high of near $4.55. The company has a market cap of 1.23 billion.
ProShares Ultra Silver (NYSEARCA:AGQ) is down 2.05% this morning at $39.20. AGQ has traded 266 thousand shares so far today and trades 2.04 million shares a day on average. AGQ shares continue to be in an overall downtrend and is down more than 37% in the past 3 months.
iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) is down 1.04% this morning at $26.84. SLV has traded 1.9 million shares so far today and trades 16.9 million shares a day on average. SLV shares are down $1 a share this week.
About Danny Fisher
