Gold, Silver March Higher as EU Leaders Agree on New Treaty

Precious metals were moving higher along with stocks Friday morning after
falling back to a weekly low of $1,705 an ounce in Asian and London trading.
European Union leaders all but unanimously agreed to draft a new, stricter EU
treaty that calls for greater fiscal integration among member nations. Silver
Standard Resources shares were surging higher, though no substantive or
company-issued news had crossed the wires. Spot gold was up 0.35%, with a bid
price of $1,711.70 and an ask price of 1,712.70 at 10:40 a.m., having traded as
high as $1,719.60 and as low as $1,705.80. The London afternoon reference price
fix came in at $1,709, $6 an ounce lower than yesterdays p.m. price fix,
according to Kitco market data . Spot silver was up nearly 0.7%, bid at $31.88
with an ask price of $31.98. The morning high as of time of writing was $32.29,
and the low was $31.63. Mondays reference price was set at $32 in the London
a.m. All 17 euro zone members those that use the euro as a common currency
agreed to sign a treaty, along with six others who want to join the eurozone,
according to a New York Times report . Sweden and the Czech Republic said they
needed to discuss the new treaty within their parties and parliaments. Great
Britain was the only government of the 27 EU member nations that refused to
sign. Its going to be the basis for a good fiscal compact and more discipline in
economic policy in the Euro-area members, European Central Bank (ECB) president
Mario Draghi was quoted as saying in a news report following overnight
negotiations in Brussels. All 17 euro zone country leaders agreed to automatic
sanctions on any member whose annual budget deficit exceeds 3% of GDP. Thats the
same cap that was agreed to in 1997, and thats been breached by all but two
eurozone members Luxembourg and Finland. Adding more firepower to the euro
stabilization effort, another 200 billion euros (~$268 billion) is being added
to the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), and its implementaion date
was moved forward to January 2012. Turning to stock exchange trading, gold and
silver trusts were heading higher. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD ) was showing
gains of around 0.3%. The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU ) was up around 0.25%.
The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV ) was moving higher, up around 1.15%-1.35%.
Gold and silver mining ETFs were retracing the ground they lost yesterday
morning. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX ) was moving higher, up
between 0.4% and 0.5%. The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDXJ )
was up some 0.7%. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL ) was up more than
2.1%. Gold mining shares were mixed, with Barrick Gold and Goldcorp sliding
lower. Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE: AEM ) was showing gains of some 0.65%. Barrick
Gold (NYSE: ABX ) was down around 0.35%. Goldcorp (NYSE: GG ) was showing losses
of around 0.5%. Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM ) was around 0.6% higher. NovaGold
Resources (AMEX: NG ) was between 0.3% and nearly 0.5% higher. Silver mining
shares were heading higher, with shares of Silver Standard Resources surging
upwards. Coeur dAlene Mines (NYSE: CDE ) was moving higher, up nearly 1.6%.
Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL ) was higher, up some 1.1%. Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:
PAAS ) was up between 0.8% and 0.9%. Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW ) was showing
gains of between 0.8% and 1%. Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ: SSRI ) was
surging higher, up between 5 and 5.8%. A s of this writing, Andrew Burger did
not own a share in any of the aforementioned stocks. Adrian Ash of BullionVault
contributed to this report.