Platinum, Palladium (PPLT) (PALL) (PGM) (PTM) (PTD) Close Week Up

Platinum and palladium prices closed Friday on a high, after a down week overall, with ETFS Physical Platinum Shares (NYSE:PPLT), ETFS Physical Palladium Shares (NYSE:PALL), iPath Dow Jones-AIG Platinum ETN (NYSE:PGM), UBS E-TRACS Long Platinum TR ETN (NYSE:PTM) and UBS E-TRACS Short Platinum ER ETN (NYSE:PTD) all closing up on Friday, with the exeption of UBS E-TRACS Short Platinum ER ETN, which closed level with Thursday's close.

Palladium futures for June delivery climbed $5.50, or 0.8 percent, to $716.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This week, the metal dropped 9.6 percent, the most since July.

Platinum futures for July delivery rose $8.20, or 0.5 percent, to $1,786.40 an ounce. This week, the price dropped 4.2 percent, the most since November.

ETFS Physical Platinum Shares (NYSE:PPLT) closed Friday at $176.66, gaining $2.26, or 1.30 percent.

Goldcorp (GG) (AEM) (UXG) (GFI) Close Up as Gold, Silver Rise Again

Shares of most gold miners were up as gold rose again Thursday, with Agnico-Eagle (NYSE:AEM), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), US Gold (AMEX:UXG) and Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) closing in the positive.

Gold for June delivery rose $16.80 to settle at $1,472.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver climbed $1.427, or 3.6 percent, to $41.664 an ounce.

Spot gold was up 1.4 percent to $1,474.30 an ounce, closing in on its record $1,476.21 set on Monday.

The collapsing U.S. dollar, tightening in China, sovereign debt crisis in Europe, unrest in the Middle East, increasing inflation and consequences of the Japanese earthquake are just some of the negative catalysts affecting the price movements.

The U.S. dollar was close to session lows, resulting in a further impetus to gold. The U.S. currency traded as low as 74.617, its lowest level since December 2009.

In base metals trading, May copper dropped 1.05 cents to settle at $4.284 a pound, July platinum increased $18.40 to $1,795.60 an ounce and June palladium was up $8.95 to $774.25 an ounce. May copper fell 1.05 cents to settle at $4.284 a pound

Gold Fields closed Thursday at $17.97, gaining $0.20, or 1.13 percent. US Gold closed at $9.45, rising $0.36, or 3.96 percent. Agnico-Eagle ended the session at $65.38, up $0.63, or 0.97 percent. Goldcorp closed at $53.96, rising $1.23, or 2.33 percent.

NovaGold (NG) (IVN) (HMY) (AU) Trade Mixed as Gold, Silver Rise Again

Shares of most gold miners were up as gold soared again Thursday, although NovaGold Resources Inc. (AMEX:NG), Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (NYSE:IVN), Harmony Gold Mining (NYSE:HMY) and AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) were trading mixed.

Gold for June delivery climbed $16.80 to settle at $1,472.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver jumped $1.427, or 3.6 percent, to $41.664 an ounce.

Spot gold was up 1.4 per cent to $1,474.30 an ounce, closing in on its record $1,476.21 set on Monday.

The collapsing U.S. dollar, tightening in China, sovereign debt crisis in Europe, unrest in the Middle East, increasing inflation and consequences of the Japanese earthquake are just some of the negative catalysts affecting the price movements.

The U.S. dollar was close to session lows, resulting in a further impetus to gold. The U.S. currency traded as low as 74.617, its lowest level since December 2009.

In base metals trading, May copper dropped 1.05 cents to settle at $4.284 a pound, July platinum increased $18.40 to $1,795.60 an ounce and June palladium was up $8.95 to $774.25 an ounce. May copper fell 1.05 cents to settle at $4.284 a pound

AngloGold Ashanti closed Thursday at $49.26, gaining $0.35, or 0.72 percent. Harmony Gold Mining closed at $14.90, up $0.07, or 0.47 percent. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. ended the session at $26.38, falling $0.30, or 1.12 percent. NovaGold Resources Inc. closed at $13.22, rising $0.36, or 2.80 percent.

Fortuna (FVITF) (SLW) (PAAS) (CDE) Trade Mixed as Gold, Silver Rise Again

Shares of most silver miners were up as silver jumped again Thursday, although Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW), Fortuna (OTC:FVITF.PK), Coeur d'Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) and Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) were trading mixed.

Silver climbed $1.427, or 3.6 percent, to $41.664 an ounce.

Gold for June delivery rose $16.80 to settle at $1,472.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Spot gold was up 1.4 percent to $1,474.30 an ounce, closing in on its record $1,476.21 set on Monday.

The collapsing U.S. dollar, tightening in China, sovereign debt crisis in Europe, unrest in the Middle East, increasing inflation and consequences of the Japanese earthquake are just some of the negative catalysts affecting the price movements.

The U.S. dollar was close to session lows, resulting in a further impetus to gold. The U.S. currency traded as low as 74.617, its lowest level since December 2009.

In base metals trading, May copper dropped 1.05 cents to settle at $4.284 a pound, July platinum increased $18.40 to $1,795.60 an ounce and June palladium was up $8.95 to $774.25 an ounce. May copper fell 1.05 cents to settle at $4.284 a pound

Pan American Silver closed Thursday at $37.35, plunging $3.74, or 9.09 percent. Coeur d'Alene Mines closed at $31.08, dropping $2.68, or 7.94 percent. Fortuna ended the trading day at $6.55, up $0.40, or 6.52 percent. Silver Wheaton closed at $42.88, rising $0.49, or 1.16 percent.
Coeur d'Alene Mines and Pan American Silver were hit hard because of Bolivia's leftist, progressive government said it might rescind concessions on four mines in the country. Pan American silver was one of the companies specifically mentioned. Coeur d'Alene Mines wasn't mentioned but does mine in Bolivia.

Great Panther (GPL) (CDE) (AXU) (PAAS) Close Mixed as Silver Prices Rise

while Gold and silver prices were up only slightly Wednesday, silver companies like Great Panther (AMEX:GPL), Coeur d'Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE), Alexco Resource (AMEX:AXU) and Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) finished mixed, even as most base metals fell in price.

On Wednesday gold prices closed at $1455.60 an ounce. The Silver price for the May contract was higher by .43 percent at 40.24 an ounce. Spot silver hit $40.36 and ounce, up 32 cents.

The collapsing U.S. dollar continues to be a big factor with gold and silver prices, although it gained in strength near the end of trading Wednesday. Other elements are tightening in China, sovereign debt crisis in Europe, unrest in the Middle East, deepening food and fuel inflation and the consequences of the Japanese earthquake in the auto and tech sectors, among others.

July platinum added $2.90 to $1,777.20 a troy ounce, but June palladium fell $4.80 to $765.30 a troy ounce.

Among base metals, May copper was down 9 cents to $4.30 a pound in New York trade, while three-month contracts were $115 lower to $9,515 a ton on the London Metal Exchange after stockpiles in LME-monitored warehouses added another 3,225 tons throughout the day.

Tin was also down in London trade, falling $300 to $32,250 a ton, while nickel dropped $450 to $26,250 a ton.

Pan American Silver closed Wednesday at $41.08, gaining $0.90, or 2.23 percent. Alexco Resource closed at $8.68, the same as close on Tuesday. Coeur d'Alene Mines closed at $33.76, falling $0.85, or 2.46 percent. Great Panther ended the session at $4.00, jumping $0.09, or 2.20 percent.

First Majestic (AG) (SLW) (ISVLF) (MGN) Finish Up as Silver Prices Rise

Even though Gold and silver prices were up slightly Wednesday, silver companies like Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW), Impact Silver (OTC:ISVLF.PK), First Majestic (NYSE:AG) and Mines Management (AMEX:MGN) were able to churn out a gain, even as most base metals fell in price.

On Wednesday gold prices closed at $1455.60 an ounce. The Silver price for the May contract was higher by .43 percent at 40.24 an ounce.

The collapsing U.S. dollar continues to be a big factor with gold and silver prices, although it gained in strength near the end of trading Wednesday. Other elements are tightening in China, sovereign debt crisis in Europe, unrest in the Middle East, deepening food and fuel inflation and the consequences of the Japanese earthquake in the auto and tech sectors, among others.

July platinum added $2.90 to $1,777.20 a troy ounce, but June palladium fell $4.80 to $765.30 a troy ounce.

Among base metals, May copper was down 9 cents to $4.30 a pound in New York trade, while three-month contracts were $115 lower to $9,515 a ton on the London Metal Exchange after stockpiles in LME-monitored warehouses added another 3,225 tons throughout the day.

Tin was also down in London trade, falling $300 to $32,250 a ton, while nickel dropped $450 to $26,250 a ton.

Mines Management closed Wednesday at $2.86, gaining $0.05, or 1.78 percent. Impact Silver closed at $2.552, up $0.142, or 5.89 percent. Silver Wheaton closed at $42.39, rising $0.02, or 0.05 percent. First Majestic ended the session at $23.05, jumping $2.52, or 12.27 percent.

Goldman (NYSE:GS) Says Precious Metals Will Lead Commodities in 2011

Talking commodities today concerning 2011, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) said they see precious metals leading the way, with gold reaching $1,690 in 12 months, while livestock performing the worst in the commodity sector.

Over the next year, Goldman sees precious metals rising 28 percent and livestock increasing by only 4 percent.

Goldman said in the report, “Extreme weakness in U.S. demand over the past two years has allowed China to grow unconstrained without any competition for raw materials. This is likely to change in 2011 with a stronger U.S. that is likely to bump up against a China that is consuming dramatically more commodities than pre-crisis.”

In order to cut back on American consumption, commodity prices will probably be pushed up in order to “to make room for further Chinese demand,” according to Goldman.

Precious metals specifically identified as being most affected were platinum and copper, and other commodities to be affected said Goldman, will be soybeans, cotton and crude oil.

As far as gold demand and prices, Goldman concluded, “A low U.S. real interest-rate environment will continue in 2011, particularly given the resumption of quantitative easing measures in the U.S.,” the analysts wrote. “However, as we look toward 2012, we find it timely to reiterate our view that at current price levels gold remains a compelling trade, but not a long-term investment.”

Barrick (TSE:ABX) Sells Sedibelo to Platmin (TSE:PPN)

Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) has sold its Sedibelo platinum project to Platmin (TSE:PPN). The Sedibelo platinum project is located in South Africa.

The approximate $60 million paid by Platmin is for a 10 percent stake held by Barrick in the project.

How the deal breaks down is the stake itself is valued at $15 million, while additional "long lead items" worth up to $45 million will also be included in the deal.

Once Barrick decided not to increase its stake in Sedibelo, it was only a matter of time before they unloaded it. For Platmin it makes sense because it is located close to their Pilanesberg mine, the flagship project of the company.

The deal is expected to close sometime in the second quarter.