Gold rebounds after falling on IMF sale, stronger US dollar

Gold slipped below US$1,100/oz from this week’s high of US$1,126/oz after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it would sell 191.3 tonnes of gold out of the total 403.3 tonnes earmarked for sale to push down the prices. IMF sold the first 212 tonnes to India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius last year.
Further pressure came from a stronger US dollar, which gained against a basket of six other currencies ahead of today’s US employment data.
Later, however, the yellow metal rebounded to climb back to US$1,118/oz as the initial impact from the IMF update softened and the American currency fell after the update from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims rose by 31,000 to 473,000 last week, which was a far greater increase than projected, casting yet more doubts over the strength of the ongoing economic recovery.
Other precious metals headed in opposite directions as while silver advanced, reaching US$16.21, platinum inched lower to US$1,527/oz.
Mining stocks were mixed today. Platinum miner Lonmin (LSE: LMI), gold producer Randgold resources (LSE: RRS) and silver and gold miner Fresnillo (LSE: FRES) all posted insignificant gains.
Another FTSE 100 constituent, specialty chemicals firm Johnson Matthey (LSE: JMAT) lost 1.2%.
Midcaps were in decline as Aquarius Platinum (LSE: AQP) moved down 1.9% and silver producer Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC) dropped 1.2%. Petropavlovsk (LSE: POG) recovered from early falls to get back to the opening level.
Turkey focused gold miner Ariana Resources (AIM: AAU) was one of the leading performers in the sector, gaining 12.5% after updating the market on its Red Rabbit project.
Africa operating gold miner GMA Resources (AIM: GMA), which today said it has raised £0.48 million via share issue, and Uzbekistan focused gold miner Oxus Gold (AIM: OXS) also were in demand, advancing 7.5%. Turkey and Ethiopia operating gold miner Stratex International (AIM: STI) and Iran focused gold explorer Persian Gold (AIM: PNG) followed with gains of 7%, Africa focused gold deposit developer Cluff Gold (AIM: CLF) and Zambian emerald seller Gemfields Resources (AIM: GEM) added nearly 5%. Tajikistan operating gold miner Kryso Resources (AIM: KYS) and Philippines focused Metals Exploration (AIM: MTL) rose 4%.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia operating gold explorer KEFI Minerals (AIM: KEF) headed in a different direction, slipping 12.5%. Commodity asset development company Mercator Gold (AIM: MCR) and Kazakhstan operating gold producer and copper developer Frontier Mining (AIM: FML) followed with losses of 8% and 5% respectively.

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