Precious Metals Hold Gains, Gold Shares Rally

Gold and silver futures maintained the majority of their gains Tuesday afternoon amid a broad-based strength on Wall Street.

COMEX gold for August delivery – the most actively-traded contract – reached an intra-day high of $1,618.90 per ounce this morning before settling up by $17.00, or 1.1%, at $1,613.80.

July silver on the COMEX climbed to $29.05 earlier in the day and finished higher by $0.33, or 1.2%, at $28.95 per ounce.

The rally in precious metals was fueled in part by the U.S. dollar, which turned modestly lower this afternoon against a basket of the world’s largest currencies. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) – a trade-weighted composite measuring the greenback against the euro, yen, pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona, and Swiss franc – retreated from as high as 82.727 to 82.446 later in the day.

Gold and silver shares were buoyed by strength in the metals, as the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) rose 1.7% to 162.17. Among the world’s largest gold producers, Barrick Gold (ABX) advanced just 0.3% to $38.41 per share while Goldcorp (GG) posted a more considerable gain of 1.7% on its way to $39.24 per share.

Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) and Silver Wheaton (SLW), two of the most widely-traded silver stocks, jumped by 2.9% to $18.88 and by 2.9% to $27.93 per share, respectively.

Gold and silver shares also outperformed the broader equity markets, which nonetheless posted respectable gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) climbed by 1.3% to 12,566.38 while the S&P 500 Index rose by 1.1% to 1,323.87.