Precious Metals Hold Gains, XAU Pares Losses

Gold futures snapped their three-session losing streak on Tuesday amid strong gains in several precious metals.

COMEX gold for February delivery settled higher by $15.90, or 1.0%, at $1,662.20 per ounce, just a fraction below its intra-day high.  Silver futures for March delivery at the COMEX ended up by $0.38, or 1.3%, at $30.47 per ounce.

Among other metals, platinum futures jumped by $26.90, or 1.7%, to $1,583.20 per ounce while palladium bucked the trend by posting a loss of $2.15, or 0.3%, at $667.85 per ounce.

In contrast to the majority of the metals, gold and silver stocks were dragged lower by the broader equity markets. Nonetheless, the sector later recouped the large majority of its losses to trade only slightly lower this afternoon.

The Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) slid by as much as 0.9% to 158.68 this morning, but subsequently bounced back to near unchanged at 160.12.  The S&P 500 Index, however, remained in the red by 0.4% at 1,456.23.

A few of the better performing mining companies in the sector on Tuesday included Goldcorp (GG), Kinross Gold (KGC), and Silver Standard Resources (SSRI).  Shares of GG advanced by 2.0% to $35.92, KGC by 1.8% to $9.50, and SSRI by 3.9% to $15.09.

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