Gold, Silver Holding Steady Tuesday

Gold was holding firm above $1,790 per ounce and silver was straddling $35 in
Tuesday morning trading. Market participants continue to focus on developments
in the euro zone, where Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconis latest
austerity budget is up for a vote in the Italian Parliament. The results may be
viewed as a vote of confidence or lack thereof for Berlusconis government.
Spot gold was down some 0.2% mid-morning Tuesday, though up from its previous
days close, having hit a high of $1,798.30 per ounce and a low of $1784.70 as of
10 a.m. Spot gold was bid at $1,791.80 with an ask price of $1,792.80. The
evening reference price was fixed at $1,795 an ounce, according to Kitco market
data . Spot silver was just about flat, trading at $34.99 Bid, $35.09 Ask. The
morning high as of time of writing was $35.24 per ounce, and the low was $34.59.
Thursdays reference price was set at $34.64 in the London a.m. Gold and silver
trusts were moving slightly lower Tuesday morning. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:
GLD ) was some 0.4% lower. The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU ) was around 0.35%
lower. The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV ) was down about 0.35%. Gold mining
trusts were down, but the Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL ) was slightly
up. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX ) was nearly 0.6% lower. The
Market Vector Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDXJ ) was down nearly 0.2%. The
Global X Silver Miners ETF was nearly 0.3% higher. Shares of gold miners were
showing losses Tuesday. Agnico-Eagle Mines (USA) (NYSE: AEM ) was some 1.1%
lower. Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX ) was around 0.5% lower. Goldcorp (NYSE: GG
) was down some 0.9%. Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM ) was down around 0.5%.
NovaGold Resources (USA) (AMEX: NG ) was about 0.7% lower. Silver miners shares
were mixed, with Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW ) and Silver Standard Resources
Inc. (NASDAQ: SSRI ) showing losses. Coeur DAlene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE ) was
nearly 0.8% higher. Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL ) was up nearly 3%. Pan American
Silver Corp. (USA) (NASDAQ: PAAS ) was around 0.3% higher. Silver Wheaton was
about 0.25% lower. Silver Standard Resources was around 0.45% lower. As of this
writing, Andrew Burger did not own a position in any of the aforementioned
stocks.