Gold, Silver Shares Slide as Metals Pare Gains

Gold and silver shares turned lower in late morning trading on Friday as
precious metals pared their gains. The Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU)
initially rose as much as 1.0% to 193.69, but later fell to an intra-day low of
189.07, for a 1.4% loss. COMEX gold futures, per the December contract, rallied
above $1,660 this morning but traded back near $1,650 as of 11:40am ET. Silver
futures followed a similar path, as they earlier rose to $32.85 but later traded
back near $32.10 per ounce. Notable decliners in the sector included XAU
components AngloGold Ashanti (AU), Kinross Gold (KGC), and Silver Wheaton (SLW)
which dropped 1.7%, 2.7%, and 2.2%, respectively. The broader U.S. equity
markets also surrendered their gains, with the S&P 500 Index dipping 0.2% to
1,163.15 after being higher by as much as 0.6% at 1,171.40.