Gold, Silver Up as U.S. Reports Post-Holiday Economic Data

Gold and silver prices were moving higher Thursday morning as stocks moved
lower following data on U.S. weekly unemployment for the first week of January,
as well as December retail sales. Spot gold was trading about 0.5% higher at
10:45 a.m., with a bid price of $1,651.50 per ounce and an ask price of
$1,652.50. Spot gold traded as high as $1,663.20 and as low as $1,650. The
London afternoon reference price fix came in at $1,661, $25.50 per ounce higher
than Wednesdays reference price, according to Kitco market data . Spot silver
was up 1.33%, bid at $30.37 per ounce with an ask price of $30.47. The morning
high as of time of writing was $30.81 and the low was $30.24. Thursdays
reference price was set at $30.58 in the London a.m., 77 cents per ounce higher
than Wednesdays price fix. A stronger euro/USD exchange rate likely is
contributing to gold and silvers move higher. The dollar weakened against the
euro Thursday as borrowing costs for Spain and Italy dropped. Spains treasury
reported that it sold 10 billion euros ($12.7 billion) of bonds, twice the
targeted amount, with yields a full percentage point lower than previous
auctions, according to a New York Times report . Italys entire 8.5 billion euro
($10.8 billion) allotment of 12-month bills sold out at yields half or more less
than previous auctions. Here in the U.S., seasonally adjusted initial
unemployment claims for the week ending Jan. 7 rose to 399,000, up 24,000 from
the previous weeks revised 375,000. The four-week moving average was 381,750, up
7,750 from the previous weeks average of 374,00. December 2011 retail and food
services sales totaled $400.6 billion, up 0.1% from November and 6.5%
year-over-year, the Commerce Department reported. Total 2011 sales were up 7.7%,
and sales ex-autos were up 7.3%. Gold and silver prices hit a one-month high in
London morning trading Thursday, according to BullionVault s London Gold Market
Report. Because gold is easy to sell, it has seen the same flight to cash that
risk assets such as equities have suffered, wrote Mark Dampier, the head of
research at UK equity and fund brokerage Hargreaves Lansdown, in Money Marketing
magazine. The attractions of gold remain undiminished I believe the fall back
in price could present a buying opportunity, he added, advising investors to
consider more risky and potentially more rewarding exposure to gold through
mining stocks. Gold and silver trusts were showing healthy gains in Thursday
morning activity on U.S. exchanges. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD ) was showing
gains of 0.75%. The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU ) was up 0.7%. The iShares
Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV ) was up 1.5%. Gold mining ETFs were showing gains,
while the Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL ) was flat. The Market Vectors
Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX ) was showing gains approaching 0.9%. The Market
Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDXJ ) was up 0.7%. The Global X Silver
Miners ETF was flat. Gold mining shares were mixed to broadly higher, with
shares of Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY ) surging up more than 4%. Agnico-Eagle Mines
(NYSE: AEM ) was mostly flat. Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX ) was up about 0.2%.
Eldorado Gold (NYSE: EGO ) was down around 0.6%. Goldcorp (NYSE: GG ) was up
1.35%. Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM ) was up just shy of 0.8%. NovaGold Resources
(AMEX: NG ) was nearly 3% higher. Yamana Gold was up about 4.4%. Silver mining
shares were showing strong gains, with Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS ) the
exception. Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL ) was recovering some ground after Wednesdays
staggering losses . Coeur dAlene Mines (NYSE: CDE ) was moving higher, up some
1.8%. Hecla Mining was up around 4.1%. Pan American Silver was down more than
0.8%. Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW ) was showing gains of 1.45%. Silver Standard
Resources (NASDAQ: SSRI ) was up some 2.65%. As of this writing, Andrew Burger
did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of
BullionVault contributed to this report.