Paulson Holds Gold, Soros, Robertson Sell

Hedge fund managers were cautious in the latest quarter in reference to their gold investments, with John Paulson holding onto his gold investments, while George Soros sold some of his and Julian Robertson sold all of his fund's stake in Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF.

Paulson didn't sell any of Paulson & Co.'s 21.8 million shares in SPDR Gold Trust, of which the fund is the biggest shareholder in.

With the price of gold dropping, that obviously had a negative impact on the value of Paulson's stake in SPDR, as it fell from a value of $3.75 billion to $3.54 billion in the fourth quarter. During the fourth quarter spot gold prices dropped about $100 an ounce, or close to five percent.

Paulson also held onto stakes in major gold miners AngloGold Ashanti and Barrick Gold (ABX), among a number of others.

George Soros cut his position in SPDR Gold by over 50 percent from the 1.32 million he held in the third quarter to 600,000 shares in the fourth quarter.

Via Tiger Management, Julian Robertson held onto his stake in the Junior Gold Miners ETF.

All of this isn't entirely unexpected, as it was thought that gold could drop in the short term while rebounding as the year goes on.

This should be the case, with gold and other commodities jumping once the equities market begins to correct.

At this time gold is pressing down towards the $1,600 an ounce mark, with some believing it'll go below that in the not-too-distant future.

Gold ETFs (UGL) (GLD) (GDX) (GDXJ) Soar

Shares of gold ETFs ProShares Ultra Gold (NYSE:UGL), SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) and Market Vectors Junior Gold Mine (NYSE:GDXJ) traded higher Wednesday as gold, silver and the majority of other commodity prices were up on the day.

PowerShares DB Gold Double Short ETN (NYSE:DZZ), ProShares UltraShort Gold (NYSE:GLL) and PowerShares DB Gold Short ETN (NYSE:DGZ) all closed down as expected on an up gold 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.

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.

ProShares Ultra Gold (UGL) closed Wednesday at $76.66, gaining $0.95, or 1.25 percent. SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) ended the day at $145.60, up $0.86, or 0.59 percent. Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) closed at $55.39, rising $0.38, or 0.69 percent. Market Vectors Junior Gold Mine (GDXJ) closed at $35.39, gaining $0.92, or 2.67 percent.

Gold ETFs (UGL) (GLD) (GDX) (GDXJ) (GTU) Trading Down

Shares of gold ETFs ProShares Ultra Gold (NYSE:UGL), SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca:GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Mine (NYSEArca:GDXJ) and Central Gold Trust (AMEX:GTU) are under pressure today, as commodities are getting hammered, dragging precious metals down with them.

The most actively traded gold contract, for June delivery, was recently down $14.60, or 1%, at $1,502.30 per troy ounce.

Silver futures prices were down 7.3 percent $35.660 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

PowerShares DB Gold Double Short ETN (NYSE:DZZ), ProShares UltraShort Gold (NYSE:GLL) and PowerShares DB Gold Short ETN (NYSE:DGZ) were all trading up because of their gold-shorting strategy.

ProShares Ultra Gold (UGL) was trading at $77.48, dropping $1.67, or 2.12 percent, as of 2:31 PM EDT. SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD) was at $146.29, losing $1.61, or 1.09 percent. Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) was trading at $54.67, down $2.09, or 3.68 percent. Market Vectors Junior Gold Mine (NYSE:GDXJ) was at $35.53, falling $2.02, or 5.38 percent. Central Gold Trust (AMEX:GTU) was at $56.78, down $0.57, or 0.99 percent.

Gold ETFs (GDX) (IAU) (AGOL) (DGL) After 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 ETFs like Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX), iShares COMEX Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU), ETFS Physical Asian Gold Shares (NYSE:AGOL) and PowerShares DB Gold (NYSE:DGL).

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.

PowerShares DB Gold (NYSE:DGL) closed Friday at $52.33, gaining $0.73, or 1.41 percent.

Gold ETFs (UGL) (GLD) (GDX) (GDXJ) (GTU) Crushed as Gold Prices Fall

Gold ETFs ProShares Ultra Gold (NYSE:UGL), SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miner (NYSE:GDXJ) and Central Gold Trust (AMEX:GTU) got hit hard Thursday as gold and silver prices continued their fall.

One exception was ProShares UltraShort Gold (NYSE:GLL), which ended the trading session up again, closing at $25.29, gaining $1.41, or 5.90 percent. A number of commodity ETF shorts have been soaring during the commodity correction

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.

Market Vectors Junior Gold Miner closed Thursday at $35.79, falling $2.15, or 5.67 percent.

Pressure on (UGL) (GLD) (GDX) (GDXJ) (GTU) as Gold Prices Fall

Shares of gold ETFs like ProShares Ultra Gold (NYSE:UGL), SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Mine (NYSE:GDXJ) and Central Gold Trust (AMEX:GTU) were dropped Tuesday as the price of gold fell on the session, with the U.S. dollar gaining a little.

On the other hand ProShares UltraShort Gold (NYSE:GLL) responded in the positive, as expected.

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.

Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners (GDXJ) closed at $37.92, falling $1.82, or 4.58 percent.

Gold ETFs (UGL) (GLD) (GDX) (GDXJ) (GTU) Down as Gold Closes Level

Shares of ProShares Ultra Gold (NYSE:UGL), iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Mine(NYSE:GDXJ) and Central Gold Trust (AMEX:GTU) trade down as gold closes level.

ProShares UltraShort Gold (NYSE:GLL) which wins when gold is under pressure, closed Monday up.

Silver prices for July lost $2.51 to settle at $46.08 an ounce, after getting crushed 13 percent, as it fell as low as $42.20.

Gold for June delivery jumped 70 cents Monday to settle at $1,557.10 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. After losing 2.5 percent to drop to $1,540.30, the yellow metal rebounded to $1,577 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar index changed directions after an rally early in the trading session Monday and was down 0.09 percent at $72.96. The U.S. dollar index was fell almost 4 percent in April and is struggling to keep from breaking below its record low of $71.

It is surprising to see gold and silver pressured, as in April gold was up 8.92 percent and silver a whopping 28.72 percent.

One piece of financial information somewhat ignored Monday because of the hoopla surrounding the death of Osama bin Laden, was the manufacturing report concerning China in April which showed production had slowed down during the month. That should help the price of gold and silver going forward.

ProShares Ultra Silver closed Monday at $296.50, falling $62.46, or 17.40 percent.

Central (GTU) (GLL) (UGL) (GLD) (GDX) (GDXJ) Trade Mixed as Gold Price Breaks Records Again

Central Gold Trust (AMEX:GTU), ProShares UltraShort Gold (NYSE:GLL), ProShares Ultra Gold (NYSE:UGL), SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca:GDX) and Market Vectors Junior Gold Mine(NYSEArca:GDXJ) 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.

Central Gold (GTU) (GLL) (UGL) (GLD) (GDX) (GDXJ) Close Mixed as Gold, Silver Break Records

ProShares UltraShort Gold (NYSE:GLL), ProShares Ultra Gold (NYSE:UGL), SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca:GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Mine(NYSEArca:GDXJ) and Central Gold Trust (AMEX:GTU) closed mixed Thursday even as silver and gold prices broke all-time records. It appears investors are taking some profits off the top.

Gold prices soared while silver prices climbed 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.

Ultra Silver (AGQ) (ZSL) (GLD) (GDX) Close Mixed as Gold, Silver Soar Again

ProShares UltraShort Silver (NYSE:ZSL), ProShares Ultra Silver (NYSE:AGQ), iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) and Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca:GDX) closed mixed Wednesday as silver continues its upward climb and gold to break records on almost a daily basis.

After surpassing the $45 level Wednesday, silver prices ended the day up 54 cents to close at $44.46 an ounce. That was also another 31-year high as it pushes to break $50 and move on to an all-time record. Silver traded between $43.835 and $45.400.

Gold prices roared to another intraday record, reaching as high as $1,506.20 an ounce before pulling back to settle for June delivery at $1,498.90 an ounce, an increase of $3.80 at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Wednesday was the fourth session in a row gold prices broke an intraday record, as well as settling at a new record as well.

Gold and silver prices continue to surge on safe-haven buying with the major impetus at this time probably being a collapsing U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar index fell 0.84% to $74.43 as it continues to struggle after Monday's S&P downgrade of the U.S. economy and warning of a credit downgrade if the U.S. doesn't quit its outrageous spending and reduce its debt.

The downgrade of the outlook of U.S. debt, sovereign debt crisis in Europe, Chinese inflation, soaring oil prices, and the ongoing fallout from the earthquake in Japan are just some of the other factors offer support to gold.

The gold-silver ratio, which measures how many silver ounces are needed to acquire an ounce of gold, fell under 34 — its lowest level since 1983.

Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF closed Wednesday at $62.10, up $0.46, or 0.75 percent. iShares Gold Trust closed at $146.50, gaining $0.57, or 0.39 percent. ProShares Ultra Silver ended the trading day at $37.63, jumping $15.44, or 5.06 percent. ProShares UltraShort Silver closed at $15.78, falling $0.89, or 5.34 percent.

Gold, Silver Up as ETFs (GLD) (GDX) (SLV) SIL) Close Up or Level

Silver prices moved up with gold, reaching another 31-year high as gold blew past the $1,500 an ounce mark on Tuesday for the first time. SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV) and Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) closed up or level on the day.

The gold contract for June delivery rose $2.20 to settle at $1,495.10 an ounce, shy of its all-time and daily high of $1,500.50 an ounce. Spot gold prices dropped 50 cents, to close at $1,495.90 an ounce.

Silver prices for May delivery climbed almost a dollar to settle at $43.91, adding 96 cents, another 31-year high.

Most of this is based upon the collapsing U.S. dollar, which pulled back again today, the tightening in China, sovereign debt crisis in Europe, unrest in the Middle East, inflation concerns and consequences of the Japanese earthquake. Silver is used by some investors as a gold alternative when gold price rise to high levels as they now are.

The warning from rating agency S&P that the U.S. may have its debt downgraded if it doesn't deal with the risky debt crisis and you have a weak macroeconomic outlook favoring silver, gold and other commodities.

Global X Silver Miners ETF closed Tuesday at $28.73, gaining $0.50, or 1.77 percent. iShares Silver Trust ETF ended the session at $43.00, gaining $0.58, or 1.37 percent. Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF closed at $61.64, up $0.81, or 1.33 percent. SPDR Gold Trust ETF closed the day level at $145.93.

SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) (GDX) (SLV) (GDXJ) (SIL) Down with Broader Commodities

Gold and silver prices fell Tuesday after running up recently, as oil prices fell, dragging commodities in general down with them. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), iShares Silver Trust (SLV) and SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) all closed down on the day

Gold for June delivery fell $14.50, or 1%, to $1,453.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It had traded as low as $1,445 an ounce.

Silver declined from its 31-year high over the previous session. The May contract (SIK11) dropped 55 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $40.07 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar fell again, making the downward move even more counterintuitive to the fundamentals.

Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF closed Tuesday at $39.44, down $1.29, or 3.17 percent. Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF closed at $61.11, falling $0.99, or 1.59 percent. Global X Silver Miners ETF ended the session at $28.39, declining $1.00, or 3.41 percent. SPDR Gold Trust closed at $141.61, dropping $1.03, or 0.72 percent. iShares Silver Trust closed at $39.09, falling $0.12, or 0.31 percent.

Copper ETN (JJC) Up as (GLD)(SLV) Take a Break

After a record run up, shares of the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEArca:GLD) and iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca:SLV) taking a rest today, while iPath Copper ETN (NYSEArca:JJC) has its turn in the sun.

Mining ETFs in the sector are also under some pressure in the trading session. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca:GDX) is down 0.3% and the Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSEArca:SIL) were down or flat on the day.

The anticipated decision by Europe to raise interest rates hasn't had too impact on the commodity sector, as expectations are that will continue on at a very slow pace going forward, with that probably being done once a year, assuming past assertions are the practice.

In America, it's unlikely we'll see an interest rate boost any time soon.

Global X Silver Miners ETF was trading at $30.06, as of 12:51 PM EDT. Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF was at $62.60, falling $0.17, or 0.27 percent. iShares Silver Trust was trading at $38.61, down $0.01, or 0.03 percent. SPDR Gold Trust was at $142.05, down $0.33, or 0.23 percent. iPath Dow Jones UBS Copper was trading at $58.56, gaining $0.60, or 1.04 percent.

Gold Stocks (ABX) (GG) (NEM) (GDX) Take Hit

Shares of gold miners and gold ETFs took a hit on Tuesday, as apparently speculators fled the yellow metal, not understanding the conditions which are set up for a big gold price push upward, which will benefit major gold miners like Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM), and ETFs like Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca:GDX).

Silver companies like popular Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) were also pushed down on for similar reasons.

That's good overall, as it takes the players out of the gold market and leaves the long-term investors as shareholders.

Of course as soon as gold prices push up again they'll all trample back in, but it'll cost them more for the right to play when they do.

Silver Wheaton closed Tuesday at $39.64, falling $2.05, or 4.92 percent. Newmont held up better than its peers, closing at $52.10, down $0.23, or 0.44 percent. Goldcorp closed at $46.52, losing $1.15, or 2.40 percent. Barrick Gold ended the session at $49.23, dropping $1.77, or 3.47 percent. Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF closed at $56.48, falling $1.33, or 2.30 percent.

Commodity ETFs (SLV), (SIL), (GLD), (GDX) Jump On Safety Concerns

Shares of iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca:SLV), Global X Silver Miners (NYSEArca:SIL), SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca:GLD) and Market Vectors Gold Miners (NYSEArca:GDX) are all up Friday, as investors flee to safety and stability in light of the poor jobs report and ongoing Middle East crisis.

Silver prices were soaring again today, reaching as high as $53.30 an ounce, the highest level in over 30 years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted over 150 points in mid-day trading, also affected to the potential negative impact of rising oil prices.

iShares Silver Trust was trading at $34.50, gaining $1.08, or 3.25 percent, as of 2:27 PM EST. Global X Silver Miners rose to $28.09, up $0.57, or 2.07 percent. Market Vectors Gold Miners was trading at $60.24, up $0.37, or 0.62 percent. SPDR Gold Shares rose to $139.22, up $1.13, or 0.82 percent.

Grab SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), iShares Silver Trust (SLV) to Play Gold, Silver Futures

As gold and silver continue their rise, investors are increasingly putting their money into SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEArca:GLD) and/or iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca:SLV) as a way to play gold and silver futures, rather than invest directly in futures.

Both ETFs are trading at near the top of their 52-week range.

If you like ETFs, another way to play gold and silver is via mining companies, where one could invest in Market Vectors Gold Miners (NYSEArca:GDX) or the Global X Silver ETF (NYSEArca:SIL), among many others, depending on what sector of the mining sector you want to focus on.

While all of these are relatively pricey because of the ongoing surge in gold and silver prices, it's doubtful it would be a good strategy to wait at this time for prices to pull back, as the time, during this season, has passed.

Hecla Mining (HL), Goldcorp (GG), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners (GDXJ) All Up

Miners Hecla Mining (HL), Goldcorp (GG) are moving up today, as well as Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners (GDXJ), which are all jumping.

Gold futures were down slightly in New York in morning trading with contracts for April delivery at $1,405.60 an ounce. Spot gold was up $3.90 to $1406 an ounce as of 1:16 PM EST.

While a number of analysts believe there has been some downward pressure on the sector because of profit taking and what some assume are better alternatives at this time, there are just as many that see mixed signals and enormous uncertainty in the Middle East, sovereign debt crisis in Europe and soaring inflation as just as powerful factors in determing where capital will flow.

SPDR (NYSE:GLD), Market Vectors Gold (NYSE:GDX) Draw Hedge Fund Interest

Last quarter a number of hedge funds revealed in their required 13-F filings that they invested heavily in SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), and to a lesser extent, Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX).

Investing in SPDR were Third Point LLC, Highfields Capital, and the hedge fund ran by Chris Shumway, a former big trader at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS).

Highfields also invested in Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF, buying up 200,000 shares. They acquired 1.6 million shares of SPDR. Third Point bought 115,000 shares of SPDR, and Shumway's fund, 2.1 million shares.

On the other hand, George Soros divested of some shares in SPDR, while also getting rid of entire stakes in some gold miners.

It was somewhat of a mixed bag last quarter, with the hedge funds mentioned above, with the exception of Soros' adding to their gold positions.

While others sold shares also, all of them still retained significant gold exposure in them. It seems they think they may be at the top of the short-term upward move, and are poised for a correction.

The fact that they held so many shares speaks to the fact gold isn't near the end of its bull run by any means, and have taken profits at the top of the price while probably waiting for the correction to invest in gold again.

SPDR Gold (NYSE:GLD), Market Vectors Junior Gold (NYSE:GDXJ), Market Vectors Gold Miners (NYSE:GDX) Down after Friday's Gold Slaughter

China is emerging as the greatest economic influence in the global markets, as evidenced on Friday when just speculation they may raise interest rates drove Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ), SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD) and Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) down, among most gold and diversified miners.

The gold market was driven on Friday primarily by the news the consumer price index in China had risen 4.4 percent. That generated the rumors, speculation and panic which led to the price of gold plummeting by about $40 an ounce.

Very few companies with any significant gold exposure survived the carnage, although much of the fallout was from traders who had to sell off their long positions in gold in order to cover margin calls.

Long-term gold investors aren't concerned about this at all, as they understand a correction will happen off and on, and they're nothing less than buying opportunities to invest in more gold assets.

Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF closed Friday at $60.07, dropping $1.71, or 2.77 percent. Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF ended the week at $39.18, falling Friday by $1.57, or 3.85 percent. SPDR Gold Shares closed Friday's session at $133.69, losing $3.97, or 2.88 percent.

Market Vectors (NYSEArca:GDX), SPDR (NYSEArca:GLD) Soar on Record Gold Prices

Gold prices pulled the entire gold sector up with them today, with Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca:GDX) and SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEArca:GLD)breaking records themselves.

Gold settled Tuesday at $1,340.30 an ounce, skyrocketing by $23.50.

Market Vectors rose to an all-time high of $58.83, before closing at $57.25, gaining $1.71, or 3.08 percent on the day. SPDR ended the day at $130.99, rising $2.53, or 1.97 percent. Both were way above their daily trading volume.

The U.S. Dollar Index plummeted 0.9 percent to 77.75, the lowest level since the middle of March 2010.

Gold miners performing strongly included Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY), which shot up by $0.45, to close at $11.73, gaining 3.99 percent. Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (NYSE:HMY) surged $0.60 to close at $11.84, an increase of 5.34 percent. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (NYSE:IVN) also skyrocketed, closing the day at $24.46, gaining $1.12, or 4.80 percent.