Goldcorp's Penasquito Challenges

The management of water resources at Goldcorp's (GG) Penasquito mine in Mexico is far from the only challenge facing the company at the mine, as a court in the Mexican state of Zacatecas has voided the lease on some of the land, while "ordering the territory be returned to the farmers."

Of the 23,000 acres included in the gold mine, approximately 1,483 acres have been ordered to be returned to the farmers.

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Gold Prices in QE3 Environment

Now that Ben Bernanke and the FOMC have implemented another round of quantitative easing - one that could go on indefinitely with the promise to purchase $40 billion in mortgaged-backed securities on a monthly basis - gold and silver prices are about to go ballistic, as there's absolutely nothing in the way now to keep them from resuming their upward climb.

Gold shot up by over $38 an ounce on the news, while silver climbed over 4 percent in response to the highly anticipated move, which was more aggressive than thought by most.

The U.S. dollar is about to reverse directions, set to weaken in response to the stimulus move.

As for gold in general, there is nowhere for prices to go except up, at least until there is a reversal in job numbers in the U.S., which could take years to improve if we are to measure it by the prior response to QE1 and QE2 by the U.S. economy.

What has been a volatile and unsure economic environment because of there being no response from the Fed in the recent past concerning more stimulus, has now become much more stable in the sense of knowing what is coming from the central bank in the near and long term.

That will result in investors moving into commodities in droves as they seek to protect their assets from inflation and the falling value of the U.S. dollar.

In the short term we'll also see a big boost in the equity markets, but that has a lot more risk to it with stimulus than commodities do.

Barrick Gold jumped, trading at $1.50, up 3.78 percent, as of 2.51 PM EDT. Silver Wheaton was at $38.22, up 2.00, or 5.52 percent, as of 2:52 PM EDT. Goldcorp (GG) was trading at $45.17, up $2.11, or 4.90 percent. First Majestic Silver was at $21.91, up $0.87, or 4.13 percent.

Barrick (ABX) (GG) (NEM) Jump on Stimulus Expectations

Gold giants Newmont Mining (NEM), Goldcorp (GG) and Barrick Gold (ABX) jumped on Friday after the August nonfarm payrolls report revealed a dismal month, with an anemic 96,000 jobs created, far below the 125,000 analysts were looking for.

Other commodities and related companies jumped as well, as it pointed towards the likelihood that Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve will institute another round of quantitative easing in hopes of jump starting the economy.

As for gold itself, on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the most active contract for December deliver jumped $34.90, or 2.1 percent, to settle at $1,740.50. The last time gold settled that high was on February 28.

If Bernanke does pull the stimulus trigger, when coupled with the potentially unlimited bond-buying program launched by the ECB, gold, silver, and other commodities will soar again in response.

But even if the Fed decides to wait till later in the year, it appears a floor has been placed under the market for now. The longer nothing else is down though, the shakier that floor will become.

Bernanke and the Fed probably only have one real shot left at making it appear they can do something to help the economy recover, so while it's probable there will be some type of stimulus offered next week, it's also possible the decision will be made to wait a little longer.

That would put some downward pressure on gold and silver, along with other commodities in the near term, but it probably won't take long to recover once investors realize it's only a matter of when, and not if, the stimulus will come.

Stocks on the other hand will get crushed if nothing is done be Bernanke.

Barrick Gold closed Friday at $40.16, gaining $1.16, or 3.0 percent. GoldCorp ended the session at $43.00, up $0.86, or 2.0 percent. Newmont Mining closed at $51.69, rising $.79, or 1.6 percent.

Goldcorp (GG) Lowers Production Guidance on Drought, Seismic Activity

Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) lowered its gold and by-product metal production estimates because of ongoing drought and seismic activity at its two leading mines.

For the year, Goldcorp dropped its overall production estimates from its previous guidance of 2.6 million ounces to a range of 2.35 million and 2.45 million.

Pressure came from its top Red Lake mining operations in the first half, while in the second half its Peñasquito property will be under pressure.

Because of decreased production expectations, the company altered its total cash cost guidance from $250 to $275 an ounce on a by-product basis to $310 to $340 an ounce; and from $550 to $600 an ounce to $625 to $650 an ounce on a co-product basis.

As for by-product metals, production guidance for copper remained the same at 110 million pounds. Silver production projections were lowered from 34 million ounces of silver to a range of 30 million to 31 million ounces; from 400 million pounds of zinc to a range of 310 million to 325 million pounds of zinc; and from 180 million pounds of lead to a range of 155 million to 160 million pounds.

CEO Chuck Jeannes said this about the two major mines:

"At Red Lake, we look forward to the resumption of mining in areas of the High Grade Zone that have been inaccessible due to de-stressing activities, but grade inconsistencies in the Footwall Zone experienced in the first six months of 2012 necessitate a conservative approach with regard to forecasting production during the second half of the year."

"At Peñasquito, the team is assessing opportunities to address water deficits as soon as possible. We are optimistic that sufficient water will be secured to accommodate long-term throughput forecasts but until those sources are secured, we have reduced the forecasts for ongoing throughput and production. We remain encouraged that the ore body continues to meet expectations with respect to grade and recoveries."

Expectations are plan production for the rest of 2012 at Peñasquito will be from 98,000 to 107,000 tpd, all of which will cut into gold, silver, lead and zinc production.

Year over year, gold production in the second quarter fell from 597,100 ounces to 578,600 ounces.

Shares of Goldcorp plunged by almost 10 percent Wednesday, dropping $3.58, or 9.74 percent, to $33.17.

Gold Poised to Jump on Stimulus Hints

Gold and commodity prices soared Friday as European leaders announced they're going to recapitalize the banks in the region, although specifics of the deal weren't revealed.

In response, gold futures for August delivery climbed $53.80 to settle at $1,604.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver prices also soared, jumping $1.32 to settle at $27.61.

While it help prop up the markets in general, it also did with gold as well, as it basically supports the premise there will be much more stimulus going forward; presumably with a big dose coming sometime soon in the euro zone.

The announcement by the Federal Reserve that it would keep interest rates low through 2014 and continue on with its "Operation Twist," also teases and sends a signal to the markets that there will inevitably be more stimulus from that source as well.

With the EU, euro and euro zone fighting for its very survival, there isn't even a question as to whether or not there will be a stimulus, it's only a matter of when and how much.

For the United States, it's pretty much the same situation in the sense of slowing growth, and the Federal Reserve has stated it's ready to act in response to negative economic conditions, which are in fact already upon us, as growth rate estimates in the U.S. have been recently lowered.

The central bank cut its estimate for the 2012 gross domestic product growth to 1.9 to 2.4 percent, from 2.4 to 2.9 percent in April. Estimates for 2013 were lowered to 2.2 to 2.8 percent, compared to 2.7 to 3.1 percent in the prior projection.

All of this refers to speculation by the market that more quantitative easing is coming, and that will continue to provide support for gold, which already got a boost with the news out of the EU.

One major result from all of this will be for the euro to strengthen against the U.S. dollar, which will also provide impetus for the price of gold and other commodities to rise.

Pressure is mounting for stimulus action, and for better or worse it's going to come. The market is ready to reward gold and silver when that happens, as evidenced by the huge price increase on just a little good news from that point of few. What's going to happen when full-fledged stimulus is put into action again; especially when more than one part of the world does it? Friday's response by gold and silver prices give us a glimpse into what that will be.

Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX) closed Friday at $37.57, rising $1.34, or 3.70 percent. Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) ended the session at $37.58, up $1.48, or 4.10 percent. Newmont Mining rose $1.39, to close at $48.51, gaining $2.95 percent. SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) ended the day at $155.19, up $4.14, or 2.74 percent.

iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) soared $1.02, gaining 3.98 percent to close at $26.65. Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW) exploded $1.35, jumping $5.30 percent, to end the day at $26.84. Endeavour Silver (NYSE: EXK) closed the day at $8.12, up $0.33, or 4.24 percent.

Newmont (NEM) (GG) (EGO) Trade Mixed as Economic Uncertainty Continues

Shares of Newmont Mining (NEM), Goldcorp (GG) and Eldorado Gold (EGO) were trading mixed today as the price of gold moved slightly positive and negative on the day, with fears continuing to affect the markets.

Many gold miners, including the above-mentioned three, started June off with a bang, as the gold miners started to catch up some with the price of gold, which they have been lagging for some time.

The miners took a hit the last couple of days on news there would be no quantitative easing in the near future, although so-called "Operation Twist" was extended.

So investors chose to place their money in U.S. dollars, as safety is the primary thing on their minds at this time, even though the U.S. dollar is a very flawed and weak currency itself.

Once the Federal Reserve announced little would be done to aid the economy, investors were forced to sell their gold to cover their losses.

The reason gold isn't plummeting in price is because the market still believes there will be another round of quantitative easing. It's only a matter of when, most believe, not if.

With the commitment by the Fed to wait until 2014 at minimum before boosting interest rates, any type of stimulus would send the price of gold, along with other commodities, soaring, as the dollar would drop in value and people would look for protection against inflation.

While it's highly probable the Fed could add stimulus to the economy, it has done virtually nothing in the recent past, and adding hundreds of billions to the national debt while doing nothing to help is something even Ben Bernanke appears slow to want to implement.

The other side of the argument is the extremely weak American economy, the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, the high unemployment in the U.S., and the ongoing weakness in the Chinese economy. All of that is what investors and economists look at when being almost certain more stimulus is in the near future.

Then you have to consider the presidential election in the U.S., as well as other national elections around the world to ascertain the liklihood of more quantitative easing.

In China its factory segment contracted for the eigth month in a row, as did the business sector in the euro zone for the fifth straight month, while the manufacturing sector in the United States dropped to its lowest level in almost a year.

Just as the price of gold has been flittering back and forth at a flat level, so has the share price of Newmont Mining (NEM), Goldcorp (GG) and Eldorado Gold (EGO), which were slightly down and up during the trading day.

Eldorado Gold was trading at $12.35, up $0.10, or 0.82 percent, as of 3:43 PM EDT. Goldcorp was at $37.04, down $0.13, or 0.35. Newmont was trading at $47.98, gaining $0.18, or 0.38 percent.

Are Goldcorp (GG)'s Problems Temporal?

The weak performance in the last quarter had analysts berating Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), making the company to appear to be facing a major disaster, rather than a probable minor blip that they are dealing with at this time.

Production issues at its Red Lake mine resulted in a drop in gold production of about 70,000 ounces from the same quarter in 2011. Another negative was the boost in production costs from $188 an ounce to $251 an ounce.

That isn't as important, as most gold miners experienced similar boosts in costs.

Goldcorp CEO Chuck Jeannes said this about the quarter, "Solid operating results throughout most of our mine portfolio were offset by a challenging first quarter at Red Lake."

Assuming this is an accurate assessment of the performance of the company, the problems at Goldcorp appear very solvable, and not as challenging as they have been portrayed to be.

That means the company could have been oversold, making the current price a good entry point for investors.

It is highly likely the shares of the company are poised to rebound, especially if the performance of the rest of the company remains in tact and Red Lake begins to add to production.

Goldcorp has been bouncing off its recent 52-week low of $32.16, as traders pushed down the price of the stock.

As of 11:51 AM EDT, it was trading at $37.32, down $0.17, or 0.46 percent.

Newmont (NEM) (GG) (KGC) (JAG) (IVN) (STVZF) (PPP) Ratings, Price Targets

Newmont Mining Co. (NEM), Goldcorp Inc. (GG), Kinross Gold (KGC), Jaguar Mining (JAG), Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (IVN), Silvercrest Mines (STVZF) and Primero Mining Corp. (PPP) had ratings and price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

Citigroup downgraded Newmont Mining Co. (NEM) from a "Buy" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Citigroup initiated coverage on Goldcorp Inc. (GG). They have a "Neutral" rating on the company.

Citigroup initiated coverage on Kinross Gold (KGC). They have a "Buy" rating on the company.

RBC Capital downgraded Jaguar Mining (JAG) from a "Sector Perform" rating to an "Underperform" rating.

BMO Capital Markets downgraded Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (IVN) from an "Outperform" rating to a "Market Perform" rating.

Roth Capital initiated coverage on Silvercrest Mines (STVZF). They have a "Buy" rating on the company.

BMO Capital Markets upgraded Primero Mining Corp. (PPP) from a "Market Perform" rating to an "Outperform" rating.

Goldcorp (GG) (SWY) (SXC) (SYY) (FSLR) (HAL) Ratings, Price Targets

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG), Safeway Inc. (SWY), Suncoke Energy Inc. (SXC), SYSCO Co. (SYY), First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) and Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) ratings and price targets.

Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Safeway Inc. (SWY). They placed a “Sell” rating on the company.

KeyBanc initiated coverage on Suncoke Energy Inc. (SXC). They placed a “Buy” rating on the company.

Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on SYSCO Co. (SYY). They placed a “Hold” rating on the company.

First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) had its rating reiterated at "Underperform” by Zacks Investment Research. They have a price target of $30.00 on the company.

Goldcorp Inc. (GG) had its rating reiterated at “Neutral” by Zacks Investment Research. They have a price target of $48.00 on the company.

Halliburton (HAL) had its rating reiterated at “Neutral” by Zacks Investment Research. They have a price target of $33.00 on the company.

Gold Jumping on QE3 Speculation

Speculation the Federal Reserve will introduce another round of quantitative easing had the price gold surpassing the $1,890 mark early in the trading day, as investors continue to migrate toward safety in the volatile and weak economy.

Gold broke $1,890 in New York and London, as the failed Obama economic policies continue to weigh on the global economy.

While some continue to talk double-dip recession, we at Everything Gold have maintained we've never left the recession, as the data continue to confirm.

Others who believed in the recovery myth are now talking entering a recession, which has helped offer support to the price of gold, as well as the ongoing sovereign debt debacle in Europe. An earlier-than-expected QE3 adds more fuel to the gold price fire, and could cause an inevitable correction in gold to be somewhat subdued in comparison to what it may have been.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) was trading at $52.61, gaining $1.83, or 3.60 percent, as of 11:48 AM. Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) was trading at $15.94, jumping $0.43, or 2.77 percent. Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) was at $63.23, climbing $3.15, or 5.24 percent. Goldcorp was trading at $53.96, increasing $2.31, or 4.47 percent. Eldorado Gold was at $20.12, up $0.73, or 3.76 percent. Novagold was trading at $10.05, gaining $0.49, or 5.13 percent.

JPMorgan (JPM) Says Gold Could Push $2,500 by the End of 2011

After three straight days of a huge gold rally, the largest since 2008, JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) said gold could go crazy and soar to as high as $2,500 an ounce by the end of 2011.

This of course is led by Obama and the Democrat refusing to do the responsible thing and cut back on government spending (along with some Republicans).

Gold has jumped recently to an all-time high of $1,779 an ounce. The $2,500 mark, if reached, would represent a new high when taking into consideration being adjusted for inflation.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has also joined the gold chorus, saying they see it hitting $1,730 an ounce within 6 months and $1,900 an ounce in 12 months.

Keynesianism is in its death throes as the realization the failed economic theory of the government printing money to escape recessions is just that - a failed one. Socialism everywhere is on the run as the unsustainability of entitlement programs and excessive military spending is increasingly being made clear to a growing number of people.

Consequently, the reason gold is soaring is not only as a safety hedge and defense against inflation, but it's value and recognition as a viable currency is roaring back. Gold has also broken away from the impact of demand, from and industrial standpoint, no longer considered to be affected by the business cycle.

As expected, gold miners are trading up today, with Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) trading at $13.61, gaining $0.16, or 1.19 percent, as of 12:14 PM EDT. NovaGold (NYSE:NG) was at $9.30, up $0.26, or 2.88 percent. Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) was trading at $18.08, gaining $0.20, or 1.12 percent. Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) was at $54.46, up $0.33, or 0.61 percent. Goldcorp was trading at $46.66, gaining $0.22, or 0.47 percent. Barrick Gold was at $46.62, jumping $0.48, or 1.04 percent.

Gold Futures Soar to Record $1,684.70 An Ounce

Gold futures jumped to another record today, reaching as high as $1,684.70 in morning trading, as investors continue to pour their money into the safety of the yellow metal.

Gold futures for December delivery climbed $12.70, or 0.8 percent, to $1,679 at 10:29 A.M. on the Comex in New York after earlier reaching the record amount. This is the third day in a row gold has broken records.

The misguided actions of American politicians to raise the debt ceiling will increase the pace at which the U.S. dollar will eventually stop being the reserve currency of the world.

Even with the outrageous quantitative easing of the Federal Reserve and the Obama administration, the recession continues, no jobs have been created, and the value of the U.S. dollar continues to plunge. Gold will continue to rise in price under these conditions.

Gold miners, which have largely been lagging the upward price move of gold, show signs of beginning to be rewarded, as recent quarterly reports from Alamos Gold (TSX:AGI) and Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) seem to reveal that may be over. Most of this is in direct relationship to rising gold prices, as input costs have risen.

Even so, gold miners are getting punished today, as majors like Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) are all trading down between 3 to 5 percent.

Trina (TSL) (GG) (AKS) (GLW) (HES) (WLL) (NEE) Downgraded

Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL), Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG), AK Steel Holding Co. (NYSE: AKS), Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW), Hess Corp (NYSE: HES), Whiting Petroleum Co. (NYSE: WLL) and NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) downgraded by analysts.

AK Steel Holding Co. (AKS) was downgraded by Susquehanna from a “Positive” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Goldcorp Inc. (GG) was downgraded by TD Newcrest to a “Buy” rating.

Corning Inc. (GLW) was downgraded by Credit Agricole to an "Outperform” rating.

Hess Corp. (HES) was downgraded by Howard Weil from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating. They have a price target of $84.00 on the company.

Trina Solar (TSL) was downgraded by Collins Stewart from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Whiting Petroleum Co. (WLL) was downgraded by BMO Capital Markets from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) was downgraded by Robert W. Baird from an “Outperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target of $59.00 on the company.

NovaGold (NG) (GG) (NEM) (EGO) (ABX) Trading Up as Gold Jumps

The price of gold is hopping again today, pushing up shares of gold miners like NovaGold (NYSE:NG), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Newmont (NYSE:NEM), Eldorado Gold (NYSE: EGO) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), as the market remains jittery over the inability of politicians to come to a conclusion concerning the debt ceiling.

U.S. gold futures for August delivery rose to $16.80 an ounce at $1,618.30.

Spot gold climbed as high as $1,624 an ounce and was up 1.1 percent at $1,615.74 an ounce.

Expectations are the price of gold will be volatile this week, moving in conjunction with news stories released covering the negotiations.

Silver Prices jumped to $41.08 an ounce in Monday morning – a 2.5 gain from the close on Friday. It has pulled back since then.

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.

Eldorado (EGO) (GSS) (AEM) (HMY) (GG) Soar as Gold Breaks New All-Time Record

The price of gold broke another all-time record Tuesday, resulting in gold miners like Eldorado (NYSE:EGO), Golden Star Resources (AMEX:GSS), Agnico-Eagle (NYSE:AEM), Harmony Gold Mining (NYSE:HMY) and Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) popping.

Much of the fast action happened after reports revealed the Federal Reserve has been contemplating another round of quantitative easing, or printing money.

The price of gold settled at $1,562.30, gaining $13.10 on the day, and was up about $20 in after hours trading. The former settlement record was $1,557.10 an ounce on May 2, 2011. The rally fell short of the overall high of $1,577, reaching $1,574 an ounce.

Parameters of initiating QE3 would be sustainably high unemployment rates and low inflation, according to FOMC minutes from the meeting. Interestingly, at the same meeting other members noted they may have to take money out of the market if inflation risk continues to linger or increase.

Silver prices fell to $35.63 an ounce, a loss of 6 cents. In after hours trading the price of silver also soared by over 50 cents an ounce.

Eldorado Gold closed Tuesday at $16.63, gaining $0.81, or 5.12 percent. Golden Star Resources ended the session at $2.54, rising $0.14, or 5.83 percent. Agnico-Eagle closed at $64.35, jumping $2.19, or 3.52 percent. Harmony Gold Mining closed the day at $13.52, increasing $0.54, or 4.16 percent. Goldcorp closed at $52.56, soaring $2.15, or 4.27 percent.

Other gold miners making significant moves included Kinross Gold (KGC), which ended at $16.73, up $0.42, or 2.58 percent. Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) closed at $12.85, climbing $0.39, or 3.13 percent. NovaGold Resources Inc. (AMEX:NG) jumped to $9.91, gaining $0.27, or 2.80 percent. Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) closed at $15.12, rising $0.66, or 4.56 percent. IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG) ended the day at $20.25, up $0.90, or 4.65 percent.

Miners (ABX) (GG) (NEM) Close Up While Gold Falls

Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM), Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) and Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) closed up Thursday, even as gold prices fell.

Gold closed down on the last day of the quarter, as prices weakened after Greece voted for austerity measures in order to prevent a debt default by securing financial aid.

Even so, gold still finished the quarter in positive territory because of an ongoing extremely weak global economy.

As for the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, it continues to fluctuate back and forth as the EU battles to keep countries from becoming the first domino to drop in what could quickly become a contagion. The sovereign debt situation in Europe is far from being solved or safe.

Gold closed the quarter up by close to five percent, settling at $1,502.80, down $7.60 for August futures. Spot gold was trading at just over $1,500 an ounce.

The inability of gold to rally on a weak U.S. dollar has some concerned it could be a negative sign for the next quarter. Against a basket of currencies the greenback was down half a percent. Most of that on an expected increase in interest rates in Europe.

Silver also closed down Thursday, ending the quarter down 7.5 percent. If it doesn't find more support, many believe it could drop significantly more before it begins its upward climb again. Silver had nine straight positive quarters before this one.

Newmont Mining closed at $53.97, gaining $0.45, or 0.84 percent. Goldcorp closed at $48.27, up $0.02, or 0.04 percent. Barrick Gold closed at $45.29, rising $0.21, or 0.47 percent.

Goldcorp (GG) Closed Week on Positive Note

After a volatile week, gold prices finally settled up and Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) ended the week up with it.

June gold closed on Friday at $1,508.90 an ounce, up $16.50, trading in a range of $1,486.40 and $1,515.80.

For the Week gold was up by about 1.15 percent, but still down 4 percent from the all-time high of $1,575 an ounce reached in the early part of May.

Silver closed at $35.16, up 0.6 percent, but down by about 30 percent since a record high on April 28 of $49.51.

Goldcorp Inc. participates in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of precious metal properties in North, Central and South America.

Goldcorp closed Friday at $48.67, up $0.31, or 0.64 percent. It has a market cap of 38.88 billion.

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.

Goldcorp (GG) Trades Down as Gold Prices Fall

Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) traded down as gold prices fell slightly on Thursday.

Gold for June delivery closed down $3.40, or 0.2 percent, at $1,492.40 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Silver prices ended the session down. July delivery for silver fell 16.5 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $34.932 a troy ounce.

The ICE Futures' dollar index was down 0.5 percent at 75.106. The U.S. dollar was down against most of its major peers at the end of trading Thursday.

Extremely bad news on Obama's economy pressured the commodity sector.

July contracts had copper falling 5.25 cents to settle at $4.0525 a pound and platinum dropped $10.90 to $1,769 an ounce. June palladium settled down $9.05 at $728.15 an ounce.

Housing sales and manufacturing data revealed an ongoing weak and fragile American economy.

Goldcorp Inc. participates in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of precious metal properties in North America, Mexico, and Central and South America. Along with gold it also produces and sells silver, copper, lead, and zinc.

Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) closed Thursday at $48.36, falling $0.29, or 0.60 percent.