Gold Prices Today Soaring on Debt Fears

With U.S. and European debt generating huge concerns among investors, gold continues to push up, increasing by $3 to $1,588.50 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange for August delivery.

Gold has reached as high as $1,594.90, as it presses toward the $1,600 an ounce mark.

The euro was up 0.33 percent against the dollar, while the dollar index remains flat at $74.96.

Uncertainty in the U.S. and Europe continues to be the determining factor in the price of gold during this time, and the hint toward the Federal Reserve being ready to pour more money into the market and further devalue the U.S. dollar is more fuel to the gold price fire.

Also on the back of the minds of investors is the inflation situation in China and India. India just announced inflation climbed to 9.44 percent in Junem up form 9.06 percent in May. Production prices in the U.S. also help gold, and silver as well, falling 0.4 percent below what was being looked for.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) and US Gold Corp (NYSE:UXG) have been the recipients of bullish call activity recently, with investors acquired 53,000 call options in comparison to 20,000 puts.

US Gold has heavy call activity for November. The share price has been jumping since it hit $5.82 on Monday. It was trading at $6.65, as of 10:59 AM EDT.

A number of gold miners have pulled back after jumping in early morning trading. Goldcorp was at $54.01, falling 0.23, or 0.42 percent, as of 11:00 AM EDT. Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) was at $13.01, down $0.14, or 1.06 percent. Eldorado Gold was trading at $17.76, declining $0.01, or 0.06 percent. NovaGold was at $10.06, dropping $0.21, or 2.04 percent.

Barrick (ABX) (KGC) (GG) (NEM) Jump As Gold Prices Break $1,500

Investors looking to gold and silver for safety as equities drop, pushing up the price of the precious metals, and major miners like Kinross Gold Corp (NYSE:KGC), Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) and Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM).

The most actively traded gold contract, for June delivery, was recently up $19.70, or $1.3 percent, at $1,512.10 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Silver prices are up with the most actively traded contract, for July delivery, recently up 22.3 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $35.155 a troy ounce.

Kinross Gold (KGC) was trading at $15.00, up $0.14, or 0.94 percent, as of 1:09 PM EDT. Barrick Gold (ABX) was trading at $45.94, gaining $0.37, or 0.81 percent. Goldcorp (GG) was at $49.04, rising $0.68, or 1.41 percent. Newmont (NEM) was trading at $54.63, climbing $0.57, or 1.05 percent.

Miners Barrick (ABX) (HMY) (GOLD) (MGH) (AZK) Trade Up

Shares of Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Harmony Gold Mining (NYSE:HMY), Randgold (NASDAQ:GOLD), Minco Gold Corporation (AMEX:MGH) and Aurizon Mines (AMEX:AZK) all traded up on Wednesday as gold and silver prices climbed on the day.

Jaguar Mining soared on an earnings beat, closing up over 23 percent on the day.

June gold climbed $15.80 to $1,495.80 per troy ounce, a 1.1 percent gain on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The less traded May contract was up $15.80, or 1.1 percent, to $1,495.60 a troy ounce.

The silver contract for May delivery gained $1.61, or 4.8 percent, to $35.10 a troy ounce.

A weaker dollar was the major catalyst for gold and silver specifically, and commodities in general on Wednesday.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $3.19, or 3.3 percent, to settle at $100.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude rose $2.31 in London, or 2.1 percent, to settle at $112.30 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of six currencies, traded at 75.438, down a little from 75.441 late Tuesday. That was also a factor in gold and silver prices going up.

Harmony Gold Mining (HMY) closed Wednesday at $13.48, gaining $0.21, or 1.58 percent.

Miners (ABX) (GG) (ANV) (NEM) (NG) All Close Up Tuesday

Shares of Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Allied Nevada Gold (AMEX:ANV), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) and NovaGold Resources Inc. (AMEX:NG) went against the tide of gold prices, all closing up on Tuesday, even though gold prices dropped again.

Gold futures for June delivery closed down $10.60, or 0.7 percent, at $1,480.00 per ounce in New York. Trade ranged from a low $1,471.10 to a high of $1,497.50.

The yellow metal has dropped $100 or 6 percent from its record highs of over $1,575 an ounce set earlier in May.

Silver gained 0.7 percent to settle at $33.80 an ounce. Since the latter part of April it has fallen almost 33 percent from a record high of $49.51.

Newmont closed Tuesday at $53.53, gaining $0.59, or 1.11 percent.

Barrick Gold (ABX) Falls Along with Gold Prices

Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), along with most other gold miners, fell again in Wednesday trading, as gold price came under pressure in the ongoing volatile market conditions.

Gold for June delivery dropped $15.50 to settle at $1,501.40 at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gold price Wednesday traded as high as $1,526.80 and as low as $1,495.40.

Gold lost 1 percent overall and silver plunged close to 8 percent on a broad commodity sell-off, as the U.S. dollar index climbed over 1 percent to $75.41, as the euro was weakened by the seemingly endless sovereign debt crisis in Europe that isn't going away.

Gold and silver also garnered no support from rising inflation data. China said prices dropped to 5.3 percent in April from 5.4 percent in March, but that number was higher than the 5.2 percent looked for.

The Bank of England said that inflation could hit 5 percent in 2011.

Silver prices dropped almost $3 to close at $35.51 an ounce.

Barrick Gold Corporation participates in the production and sale of gold, along with exploration and mine development.

Barrick Gold (ABX) closed Wednesday at $45.55, falling $2.10, or 4.41 percent.

Barrick Gold (ABX) Falls Along with Gold Prices

Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), along with most other gold miners, fell again in Wednesday trading, as gold price came under pressure in the ongoing volatile market conditions.

Gold for June delivery dropped $15.50 to settle at $1,501.40 at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gold price Wednesday traded as high as $1,526.80 and as low as $1,495.40.

Gold lost 1 percent overall and silver plunged close to 8 percent on a broad commodity sell-off, as the U.S. dollar index climbed over 1 percent to $75.41, as the euro was weakened by the seemingly endless sovereign debt crisis in Europe that isn't going away.

Gold and silver also garnered no support from rising inflation data. China said prices dropped to 5.3 percent in April from 5.4 percent in March, but that number was higher than the 5.2 percent looked for.

The Bank of England said that inflation could hit 5 percent in 2011.

Silver prices dropped almost $3 to close at $35.51 an ounce.

Barrick Gold Corporation participates in the production and sale of gold, along with exploration and mine development.

Barrick Gold (ABX) closed Wednesday at $45.55, falling $2.10, or 4.41 percent.

Barrick Gold (ABX) Trades Up Monday

Shares of Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) were up Monday even as gold and silver prices were down slightly on the trading day.

Gold for June delivery shed $3 to close at $1,490.60 at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gold price Monday traded in a range of a low of $1,486 and a high of $1,504.30.

Silver prices ended the day down 88 cents to close at $34.13 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.43 percent to $75.38.

The euro strengthened as Monday trading went on, putting pressure on the U.S. dollar.

Barrick Gold Corporation participates in gold exploration, mine developement and production and marketing of gold. Overall the company has a portfolio of 25 operating mines and a pipeline of projects located around the world, including North America, South America, the Australia Pacific region, and Africa. The also have exposure to copper, oil and gas properties.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) closed at $45.17, gaining $0.16, or 0.36 percent.

Barrick (ABX) (AZK) (GSS) (RGLD) (GRS) Trade Mixed As Gold Drops

Gold and silver prices went through a reversal Friday as gold closed down and silver rebounded to close higher, putting pressure on gold miners such as Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Aurizon Mines (AMEX:AZK), Golden Star Resources (AMEX:GSS), Royal Gold (Nasdaq:RGLD) and Gammon Gold (NYSE:GRS) - which closed mixed - and gold ETFS.

Gold for June delivery fell $13.10 to close at $1,493.60 at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The spot gold price was down by about $13 an ounce. Silver prices settled up 21 cents to $35.01 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar index was up 0.74 percent to $75.75 as the euro continued to get hammered on the sovereign debt crises in Europe. The euro plunged 1.7 percent last week as Greece was again in the spotlight for the need to probably be bailed out again, as it appears the country refuses to implement austerity measures to deal with the situation, as it, along with numerous countries, has made progressive, socialists promises they aren't able to keep.

Besides the long-term collapse of the U.S. dollar and the European sovereign debt crises, other factors offering support to gold include tightening in China, inflation, and unrest in the middle east.

Barrick closed Friday at $45.01, down $0.14, or 0.31 percent.

Miners (ABX) (RGLD) (JAG) (RIC) (AU) Trade Mixed as Gold, Silver Rebound

Gold miners Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Royal Gold (Nasdaq:RGLD), Jaguar Mining (NYSE:JAG), Richmont Mines, Inc. (AMEX:RIC) and AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) closed mixed Monday as gold prices turned around on Monday.

All the miners listed above closed up with the exception of Jaguar Mining.

Gold for June delivery increased $11.86 to settle at $1,503.20 at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange after dropping 4.8 percent in a week. The gold price Monday traded in a range as high as $1,512 and as low as $1,489.

Silver prices jumped $1.82 to close at $37.11 an ounce after plunging 27 percent last week.

According to research firm Lipper, last week almost $1 billion flowed out of silver exchange traded funds (ETFs).

The U.S. dollar fell to $1.434 against the euro and dropped against the Japanese yen to 80.24 yen.

Richmont Mines, Inc. (AMEX:RIC) closed Monday at $8.12, gaining $0.40, or 5.18 percent.

Miners (ABX) (HMY) (IVN) (RGLD) Mixed as Gold Closes Up

Gold was able to shake itself of silver Friday, as it has been weighed down by the plummeting price of silver in recent trade, which also has been dragging down gold miners Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Harmony Gold Mining (NYSE:HMY), Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (NYSE:IVN) and Royal Gold (Nasdaq:RGLD).

Gold for June delivery climbed $10.20, or 0.7 percent, to $1,491.60 an ounce. Gold lost 4.2 percent last week, as it had settled at a record $1,556.40 an ounce the Friday before. Gold fell 4.2 percent on the week.

Silver for July delivery dropped 95.3 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $35.29 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It had risen as high as $36.43 an ounce in Friday's trading.

The front-month silver contract had its worst week since late March 1980. Silver for May delivery fell 27 percent in the five-day period — its biggest percent drop since that date. The most-active July contract also was down 27 percent on the week.

Silver has lost 14 percent so far in 2011. On April 25, silver had reached as high as $49.845.

Barrick Gold (ABX) closed Friday at $46.84, gaining $0.01, or 0.02 percent.

Miners (GRS) (NG) (SA) (AZK) (ABX) Pressured as Gold Prices Fall

Gammon Gold (NYSE:GRS), NovaGold Resources Inc. (AMEX:NG), Seabridge Gold (Amex:SA), Aurizon Mines (AMEX:AZK) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) got hammered Thursday as gold and silver prices continue to plunge.

Gold for May delivery, the front-month contract, ended the trading session Thursday down $34, or 2.2 percent, at $1,480.90 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The silver contract for May delivery closed 8 percent lower, down $3.152, at $36.231 per troy ounce.

Since the Friday settlement price silver has plummeted 25 percent.

The U.S. dollar was also up, adding pressure to the two precious metals, as it gained 2 percent against the euro. That came largely from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet who suggested there will no interest-rate boost in the near future.

Nothing has changed the underlying fundamentals for gold or silver though, and this is just a healthy correction before gold and silver prices begin moving up again.

As long as easy money policies continue by the Federal Reserve and interest rates remain near zero, there is nothing to stop gold and silver prices from continuing to rise.

Inflation, political unrest, sovereign debt crisis and the collapsing U.S. dollar will also play a major role over time for gold and silver prices.

NovaGold Resources Inc. (NG) closed Thursday at $10.84, falling $1.05, or 8.83 percent.

Miners (IVN) (GOLD) (IAG) (JAG) (ABX) Trade Mixed as Gold Closes Down

Even though several events should have helped support gold prices on Wednesday, that wasn't the case, as Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (NYSE:IVN), Randgold (NASDAQ:GOLD), IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG), Jaguar Mining (NYSE:JAG) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) closed mixed, with gold for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, falling $25.10 to $1,515.30 an ounce.

Silver prices are the story for commodities and gold at this time, as the plunge in prices is dragging down the overall commodity sector, as traders sell off holdings to take some profits.

Silver fell $3.197, or 7.5 percent, to settle at $39.388 an ounce. That's the third straight day of losses after silver closed in on $50 an ounce mark last week.

Silver for July delivery dropped $2.820, at $39.765 per troy ounce.

The U.S. dollar index lost 0.15 percent to $73.01, dropping from Tuesday's 73.127 close. The dollar index is down 7.5 percent so far in 2011.

Against the euro, the dollar plunged to its lowest level Wednesday since December 2009.

Other than the fall of the dollar, other factors that would have normally supported gold was the underreported decision by the European Union to bail out Portugal for close to 78 billion euros.

Also largely ignored was the ADP Employment Change report for April, which showed the private sector missed the anticipated addition of 200,000 jobs, being able to only generate 179,000 for the month.

Also of note Wednesday was the Institute for Supply Management’s services-sector index, which was weakened more than expected in April, confirming that American growth is slowing.

IAMGOLD Corporation (IAG) closed Wednesday at $20.59, gaining $0.95, or 4.84 percent.

Correction for (IVN) (ABX) (NG) (IAG) as Gold Prices Fall

Shares of gold miners like Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (NYSE:IVN), Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), NovaGold Resources Inc. (AMEX:NG) and IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG) were suffering Tuesday as the price of gold dropped on the session, as the U.S. dollar gained a little.

Gold for June delivery fell $16.70 to $1,540.40 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gold price traded in a range as high as $1,551.40 and as low as $1,516.20. The spot gold price fell over $15 for the day.

A temporarily stronger U.S. dollar put some pressure on gold and silver prices Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar index climbed 0.04 percent to $73.09.

Also surprising the market was the decision by India to boost their interest rates by 50 basis points to fight inflation. That puts the lending rate their at 8.89 percent, and the overnight lending rate at 7.25 percent.

Silver fell another $3.49 Tuesday to settle at $42.576 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the Nymex.

Most of pressure on silver prices has come from the CME Group decision to raise margin requirements by 11.6 percent, starting at the close of market on Tuesday.

Gold looks like it's just taking a needed breather before resuming its upward run.

Gold stocks have been overall lagging the price of gold, and that should change assuming the costs of inputs remain lower than the push up in gold prices.

A growing number of gold miners are increasing dividends to attract investors.

IAMGOLD Corporation (IAG) closed at $19.64, falling $0.80, or 3.91 percent.

Dividends and (GG) (ABX) (AU) (NEM) (AUY) (CG) Gold Miners

Gold miners like Goldcorp (NYSE-GG), Barrick Gold (NYSE-ABX), AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE-AU), Newmont Mining (NYSE-NEM), Yamana Gold (NYSE-AUY) and Centerra Gold (TSX:CG) have taken on a new practice of offering dividends to investors, attacting a more cautious, but long-term investor crowd to their folds.

As long as the underlying fundamentals remain in place, which are numerous, this should continue to be the practice of gold miners, especially for those looking for longer term investors, as well as attracting new shareholders to the stock.

Some of the fundamentals not going away any time soon are low interest rates, consequences of the policies of the Federal Reserve, sovereign debt crisis in Europe, inflation, unrest in the Middle East and the ongoing collapse of the U.S. dollar.

Obviously the income from gold miners aren't comparable to other equities, but add the growth potential to the mix and there is a lot to like about the right gold mining companies.

Barrick (ABX) (IVN) (NG) (NEM) (TRE) Trade Mixed as Gold Price Breaks Records Again

Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (NYSE:IVN), NovaGold Resources Inc. (AMEX:NG), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) and Tanzanian Royalty Exploration (AMEX:TRE) closed mixed Friday as gold price records continue be broken.

Gold futures soared past $1,550 an ounce Friday as investors looked for an alternative to the U.S. dollar, which continues to collapse.

The most-actively traded gold contract, for June delivery climbed $25.20, or 1.6 percent, to settle at a record $1,556.40 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

It roared past its intraday peak to $1,569.80 in electronic trading after the close. May gold rose $25.20, or 1.6 percent, to end at a nearby record $1,556.00. Measured by percent and the U.S. dollar, it's the largest monthly gains since November 2009.

Most-active July silver jumped $1.058, or 2.2%, to a record settlement of $48.599 a troy ounce, while the May contract rose $1.064, or 2.2 percent, to $48.584, just short of its all-time settlement high of $48.70 hit on January 17, 1980. In April, the May silver contract rallied $10.712, or 28.3 percent, to its biggest monthly U.S. dollar gain in Comex history.

The ICE Futures U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.2 percent on Friday, increasing demand for the dollar-denominated precious metals by making them less expensive for foreign buyers.

Inflation concerns in America, Europe, China and Russia also has contributed to the jump in gold prices.

Other factors affecting gold and silver are the collapsing U.S. dollar, sovereign debt crisis in Europe, unrest in the Middle East and consequences of the Japanese earthquake.

Dividend Losers (X) (ABX) (ROK) Last Week

U.S. Steel (NYSE:X), Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) and Rockwell Automation Inc (NYSE:ROK) were among the biggest dividend losers last week.

U.S. Steel (X) closed at $47.71, changing the dividend -7.77 percent on the week, dropping the dividend yield to 0.42 percent.

Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX) closed at $51.01, changing the dividend -8.30 percent on the week, bringing the dividend yield to 0.94%

Rockwell Automation Inc (ROK) closed at $87.13, changing the dividend -8.47 percent on the week, bringing the dividend yield to 1.61 percent.

US Gold (UXG) (GSS) (RGLD) (ABX) Close Mixed as Gold, Silver Break Records

US Gold (AMEX:UXG), Golden Star Resources (AMEX:GSS), Royal Gold (Nasdaq:RGLD) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) closed mixed Thursday as gold and silver prices broke all-time records. It appears investors are taking some profits off the top.

Gold prices shot up while silver prices popped Thursday as investors bought the metals against a weak dollar and higher inflation expectations.

Gold for June delivery settled $14.10 higher at $1,531.20 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gold price soared to a record intra-day level of $1,538.80 an ounce while the spot gold price rose $6.90.

Silver prices for July moved up $1.55 to settle at $47.54 an ounce.

Spot silver jumped almost 4 percent Thursday to an all time high at $49.51 an ounce, surpassing the previous record set in 1980.

The ICE Futures U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.4 percent. The collapsing greenback aided dollar-denominated gold and silver by making them less expensive for foreign buyers, generating more demand.

Price Targets on (ABX) AFL) (AKAM) (ARLP) (ALR) Changed

Price targets on Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: ABX), AFLAC (NYSE: AFL), Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM), Alliance Resource (NASDAQ: ARLP) and Alere Inc (NYSE: ALR) changed by analysts.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) cut their price target on Barrick Gold Corp (ABX) from $66.00 to $57.00. They have an “overweight” rating on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of AFLAC (AFL) from $65.00 to $62.00. They have an “overweight” rating on the stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Akamai Technologies AKAM) from $49.00 to $40.00.

Hilliard Lyons raised their price target on Alliance Resource (ARLP) from $75.00 to $80.00. They have a “long-term buy” rating on the stock.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) cut their price target on shares of Alere Inc (ALR) from $42.00 to $40.00.

Analyst Upgrades for (ABX) (SCG) (SFLY) (VLY) (ABB)

Scana Corporation (NYSE: SCG), Shutterfly (NASDAQ: SFLY), Valley National Bancorp (NYSE: VLY), ABB Ltd (NYSE: ABB) and Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: ABX) received upgrades from analysts today.

The Benchmark Company upgraded Scana Corporation (SCG) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $44 on the company.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) upgraded Shutterfly (SFLY) from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating. They now have a price target of $70 on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) upgraded Valley National Bancorp (VLY) from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) upgraded ABB Ltd (ABB) to an “outperform” rating.

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Barrick Gold Corp (ABX) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $70 on the company.

Kinross (KGC) (AU) (ABX) (GFI) Close Up as Gold Prices Soar to New Records

Kinross Gold Corp (NYSE:KGC), AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU), Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) and Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) close up as gold prices post new records again.

Gold prices Wednesday soared to another record, reaching as high as $1,529.20 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, before ending the session at $1,517.10 an ounce for June at the Comex.

At the close of regular trading on Comex, silver for May delivery jumped 91 cents, or 2 percent, to end at $45.96 an ounce. Gold and silver were pushing higher in after-hours trading.

Some of this was the result of Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke saying he won't be doing anything soon to combat the soaring inflation.

Bernanke likes to use the so-called core inflation numbers, which exclude food and fuel, which are part of the surging increase in inflation, but aren't officially counted. Which is why Bernanke can say core inflation will rise 1.3%-1.6%, below its 2% inflation mandate.

As to economic growth, Bernanke admitted it was slowing down in the U.S. in 2011, somewhere in the range of 3.1%-3.3%.

The non-action by the Fed concerning interest rates is a very bullish factor for gold and silver, and will continue to offer support and impetus to the precious metals.

The euro climbed to $1.4782 from Tuesday's $1.464. The U.S. dollar rose against the yen, up to 82.11 yen from Tuesday's 81.53 yen.

Gold Fields closed at $17.76, gaining $0.20, or 1.14 percent. Barrick Gold ended the day at $50.84, rising $0.65, or 1.30 percent. AngloGold Ashanti closed at $49.87, up $0.49, or 0.99 percent. Kinross closed the session at $15.67, climbing $0.46, or 3.02 percent.