Gold Rises to Record; Silver Heads for Biggest Monthly Advance Since 1983 By Pham-Duy Nguyen - Apr 29, 2011 9:45 PM GMT+0700

Gold futures rose to a record for the third straight day on bets that the dollar will extend a slump, enhancing the allure of the metal as an alternative asset. Silver headed for the biggest monthly gain in 28 years.
The greenback headed for the fifth consecutive monthly decline against a basket of six major currencies. The Federal Reserve signaled this week that borrowing costs will remain at a record low for an extended period. Gold headed for the biggest monthly gain since November 2009.
“The dollar will continue to lose ground for the foreseeable future, so it only makes sense to be invested in precious metals,” said Matthew Zeman, a strategist at Kingsview Financial in Chicago.
Gold futures for June delivery rose $12.80, or 0.8 percent, to $1,544 an ounce at 10:41 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Earlier, the price reached a record $1,545.90. The metal has gained more than 7 percent this month.
Gold for immediate delivery climbed as much as 0.6 percent to an all-time high of $1,544.90.
Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by gold, have expanded 1.5 percent this month, heading for the biggest gain since August.
“The sinking dollar is driving people to the gold market,” said Lim Han Jo, a Seoul-based trader at Tongyang Futures Co.
The Fed has kept its benchmark lending rate at zero percent to 0.25 percent since December 2008 to stimulate the economy.

‘Free Money’

“The free-money party is going to continue, and that’s going to drive gold higher,” Zeman of Kingsview said.
Silver futures for July delivery rose $1.139, or 2.4 percent, to $48.68 an ounce. This month, the metal is up 28 percent, poised for the biggest gain since January 1983.
The minimum amount of cash that traders must deposit for speculative positions in silver futures will rise 13 percent to $14,513 per contract after the close of business today, CME Group Inc., the Comex parent, said yesterday. Margins were $4,250 a year ago.
“Silver’s run is related to the rise in gold,” said Michael Cuggino, who helps manage about $12 billion at Permanent Portfolio Funds in San Francisco. “There’s a lot of speculation in silver. Anytime you’ve had a run like silver, you’re going to get a correction.”
Before today, gold rose 31 percent in the past year, and silver more than doubled.
To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in New York at pnguyen@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.

PRECIOUS-Silver, gold near record; dollar wallows at 3-year low Fri Apr 29, 2011 12:40am GMT

SINGAPORE, April 29 (Reuters) - Silver and gold were within sight of
historic highs on Friday and could resume an uptrend as the dollar held near
three-year lows against a basket of currencies on the Federal Reserve's
intention to keep interest rates near zero.

FUNDAMENTALS
* Silver barely moved, standing at 48.28 an ounce by 0017 GMT, having
rallied to a record at $49.51 an ounce on Thursday.
* Spot gold added 75 cents to $1,535.70 an ounce after hitting a
lifetime high around $1,538 an ounce in the previous session.
* Soaring prices hurt the bottom line of certain manufacturers, including
photography company Eastman Kodak , which said on Thursday a hike in raw
material costs, particularly silver, led to a decrease in its film business
revenue. [ID:nN28229826]
* The dollar wallowed at three-year lows against a basket of currencies
early in Asia on Friday and remained on track for its biggest weekly fall in 14
weeks, though selling pressure eased as bears were already very short.

MARKET NEWS
* Tokyo stocks climbed 1.6 percent on Thursday to their highest since last's
month earthquake, helped by better-than-expected domestic earnings and
strength in U.S. shares after the Federal Reserve pledged to
hold short-term rates near zero.
* U.S. crude oil futures rose on Thursday to hit a 31-month high settlement
after a volatile trading session that saw a weak dollar attract investors
seeking alternative assets.

DATA EVENTS (GMT)
1230 U.S. Personal income mm Oct
1355 U.S. U.Mich conditions final Apr
1355 U.S. U.Mich expectation final Apr
1355 U.S. U.Mich sentiment final Apr
1430 U.S. ECRI index Weekly
:: U.S. Dallas Fed PCE Mar

Precious metals prices 0017 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1535.70 0.75 +0.05 8.19
Spot Silver 48.28 -0.13 -0.27 56.45
Spot Platinum 1836.74 1.64 +0.09 3.92
Spot Palladium 782.00 10.77 +1.40 -2.19
TOCOM Gold 4030.00 1.00 +0.02 8.07 17566
TOCOM Platinum 4847.00 31.00 +0.64 3.22 1717
TOCOM Silver 126.10 -0.30 -0.24 55.68 1879
TOCOM Palladium 2021.00 5.00 +0.25 -3.62 154
Euro/Dollar 1.4839
Dollar/Yen 81.57
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.


(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)



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U.S. Stocks Are Little Changed as Earnings Offset GDP Data By Rita Nazareth - Apr 29, 2011 12:17 AM GMT+0700

U.S. stocks were little changed, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index trading near its highest level since June 2008, as better-than-forecast earnings and takeovers tempered concern over slowing economic growth.

Insurers rallied as Allstate Corp. (ALL), Aflac Inc. (AFL) and Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) posted first-quarter earnings that topped estimates. Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) climbed 4.2 percent as the third- largest U.S. mobile-phone carrier reported a narrower loss after paring costs to offset contract-customer defections. Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG) advanced 4.2 percent as Exelon Corp. offered $7.9 billion for the power producer.

The S&P 500 traded almost unchanged at 1,355.63 at 1:16 p.m. in New York. The benchmark gauge for American equities rallied yesterday as the Federal Reserve renewed its pledge to stimulate growth with low interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 25.13 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,716.09 today.

“Corporate America has managed to do very well in this environment of sluggish growth,” said Randy Bateman, chief investment officer of Huntington Asset Management in Columbus, Ohio, which oversees $14.4 billion. “Earnings are beating estimates. Companies are adding value to their shareholders. There are just not that many alternatives that can compete with corporate America at this point.”
Earnings Scorecard

The S&P 500 rallied 7.8 percent in 2011 through yesterday amid higher-than-expected profit and as economic reports from manufacturing to housing bolstered investors’ confidence. Earnings-per-share beat estimates at more than three-quarters of the 269 companies in the S&P 500 that reported results since April 11, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Benchmark gauges reversed early losses as a report showed that the number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes rose more than forecast in March, a sign the industry that triggered the recession may begin to stabilize.

Stock-index futures fell before the start of regular trading after government data showed the U.S. economy grew at a slower pace than forecast in the first quarter as consumer purchases cooled, home construction decreased and government spending declined. Another report showed that new applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. unexpectedly rose last week to the highest level in three months, a sign progress in the labor market may be stalling.
‘Harder and Harder’

“It’s very clear that it’s going to be harder and harder to beat estimates from here,” said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist for Newark, New Jersey-based Prudential Financial Inc., which oversees $784 billion. “You’re going to see the leading economic indicators weaken, albeit from a high level. You are going to have more questions in the market.”

The global equities bull market will weather any halt in bond purchases by the Fed amid rising U.S. consumption and investment in emerging markets, according to Templeton Asset Management’s Mark Mobius.

The S&P climbed to an almost three-year high yesterday and the Russell 2000 Index of smaller stocks reached a record after the central bank renewed its pledge to keep interest rates near zero to stimulate the economy. The Federal Open Market Committee agreed to finish $600 billion of Treasury purchases in June. Another round of buying isn’t needed to sustain the rally and there won’t be an economic slump in the second half, Mobius said in a phone interview from Bucharest yesterday before the Fed statement.
Bull Market Intact

“We are in a bull market and it will continue,” said Mobius, 74, who oversees more than $50 billion as the Singapore- based executive chairman of Templeton’s emerging markets group. “There will be corrections along the way but these will be very temporary. The consumer in Europe and America is back. They’re not spending like crazy but they are spending.”

The S&P 500 Insurance Index (S5INSU) rose 1.6 percent, the biggest gain within 24 groups, as 20 of its 22 stocks rallied.

Lincoln and Allstate are among insurers benefiting from improved investment results in the first quarter. Lincoln reported gains on alternative investments, such as hedge funds, while Allstate said losses narrowed on derivatives. Allstate’s results also improved as claims from costs tied to natural disasters declined.

Allstate, the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, gained 6.1 percent to $33.90. Aflac rose 5.1 percent to $57.03. Lincoln National added 5.2 percent to $31.93.
Sprint Rallies

Sprint Nextel rallied 4.2 percent to $4.99. The company added 846,000 prepaid users, while losses of the more lucrative customers who sign up for two-year contracts shrank to 114,000 from 578,000 a year earlier. The carrier added handsets such as the HTC Corp. Evo to wrest customers from larger rivals AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Wireless and draw users to its fourth- generation network.

Constellation Energy climbed 4.2 percent to $35.75. Exelon, the largest operator of U.S. nuclear power plants, agreed to buy the power producer for about $7.9 billion in stock, adding stakes in five reactors and becoming the largest U.S. electricity marketer.

Overall, there have been more than 8,000 deals announced globally this year, totaling more than $794 billion, a 26 percent increase from the $629.7 billion in the same period in 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Cost Cuts

PulteGroup Inc. gained 4.4 percent to $8.33. The largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue forecast profit in the second half of the year. The company focused on cutting costs in the face of weak demand for new homes. Selling, general and administrative expenses for the quarter decreased 10 percent from a year earlier to $136 million. The rate of cancellations declined and visits to the company’s sale centers increased, said Richard Dugas, chairman and chief executive officer.

“Assuming market conditions remain stable, we have put ourselves in a position to return to profitability in the back half of the year.” Dugas said on a conference call with investors. “Now it’s about effort and execution, which are clearly within our control.”

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) tumbled 15 percent to $34.99. Traffic growth in the company’s volume business has “moderated,” and it’s “too early” to predict the pace of growth for the rest of the year, according to Chief Executive Officer Paul Sagan. Akamai delivers data for Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iTunes and streams video for Netflix Inc. (NFLX)

To contact the reporter on this story: Rita Nazareth in Sao Paulo at rnazareth@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Baker at nbaker7@bloomberg.net

Dollar Index Falls to Lowest Since 2008 as GDP Misses Forecast; Yen Gains By Allison Bennett - Apr 28, 2011 11:28 PM GMT+0700

The Dollar Index fell to its lowest level in more than two years as the U.S. economy expanded in the first quarter at a slower rate than forecast, encouraging the Federal Reserve to keep borrowing costs low.

The yen appreciated versus most of its major counterparts after a report showed Japanese investors sold foreign assets last week. Brazil’s real was the biggest loser versus the dollar after the central bank said it will increase borrowing costs at a slower pace for a longer period than initially planned.

“The U.S. dollar looks very heavy, and people are looking for reasons to sell it,” said Firas Askari, head currency trader at Bank of Montreal in Toronto. “The momentum we did seem to be having in the U.S. economy seems to be hitting some headwinds, but the headwinds seem to be temporary. Best-case scenario: U.S. economy is lukewarm.”

IntercontinentalExchange Inc.’s Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, dropped 0.5 percent to 73.187 at 12:25 p.m. in New York, from 73.519 yesterday, after touching 72.871, the lowest level since July 2008.

The New Zealand dollar decreased for the first time in three days versus its U.S. counterpart after Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard called the currency’s recent advance “unwelcome” and policy makers left the official cash rate unchanged at a record low 2.5 percent. The kiwi dropped 1 percent to 80 U.S. cents after reaching 81.08 cents yesterday, the highest level since March 2008.
Weaker Real

Brazil’s real slid as much as 1.7 percent to 1.5963 versus the dollar after central bank minutes released today indicated that policy makers will raise interest rates at a slower pace for a longer period than initially planned.

The yen rallied as Japanese investors were net sellers of foreign bonds during the week ended April 22. The total net sale was 162.8 billion yen ($2 billion yen).

“The yen is firmer today because it now seems that there is more of a potential for repatriation back into the economy, which would drive up demand,” said Mark McCormick, a currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in New York “Over the long term, the BOJ is going to continue to ease policy, which will keep the yen soft and in this range of 81 to 83.”

The U.S. currency fell against the euro and yen after the Commerce Department reported that gross domestic product rose at a 1.8 percent annual pace in the first quarter after a 3.1 percent rate of expansion in the last three months of 2010. The median forecast of 80 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 2 percent pace of growth.
Dollar Versus Euro

The dollar depreciated 0.2 percent to $1.4817 versus the euro, from $1.4788, after sliding to $1.4882, the weakest level since December 2009. The greenback slid 0.7 percent to 81.56 yen, from 82.16. The yen rose for the first time in five days against the euro, climbing 0.5 percent to 120.83.

The Dollar Index fell for an eighth day in its longest losing run since March 2009 after Bernanke signaled yesterday in his first press conference following a policy decision that the central bank will likely continue reinvesting maturing debt after its $600 billion bond-buying program expires in June.

The gauge may rebound as technical indicators suggest the drop in the U.S. currency will be hard to sustain, according to Bank of Tokyo.

The Williams %R indicator for the measure was at minus 93.6359 on a weekly basis, exceeding the threshold of minus 80 that some traders see as a sign an asset’s price has fallen too fast and may reverse course.
Technical Indicator

Williams %R, developed by the trader Larry Williams, calculates the difference between a security’s most recent closing price and its highest high price, relative to its price range over a given time period.

The 14-day relative strength index for the Dollar Index dropped to 23.51, the lowest level since Oct. 14 and below the level of 30 that signals an asset may be due for a rebound.

The dollar has lost 4.9 percent in the past month, extending this year’s decline to 7.1 percent, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Currency Indexes, which track the foreign exchange of 10 developed nations. The yen has fallen 4.6 percent in the past month and has lost 7.5 percent this year.

Australia’s dollar appreciated as much as 0.7 percent to $1.0948, the highest since the currency began trading freely in 1983, as traders boosted bets that the central bank will increase borrowing costs.

A Credit Suisse Group AG index based on swaps indicated the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise its 4.75 percent cash target by 25 basis points, or 0.25 percentage point, over the next 12 months, compared with 19 basis points a week earlier.

To contact the reporter on this story: Allison Bennett in New York at abennett23@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net

Gold Resource Corporation Declares and Increases Tenth Special Cash Dividend

Gold Resource Corporation (GORO) (NYSE Amex: GORO) is pleased to announce it has declared its April Special Cash Dividend and increased it to $0.04 per common share to its shareholders of record May 13, payable May 20, 2011. Gold Resource Corporation is a low-cost gold producer with operations in southern Mexico.

Gold Resource Corporation commenced Commercial Production July 1, 2010 from its El Aguila Project's operations in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Using cash flow generated from operations, the Board of Directors declared its tenth dividend in as many months of commercial production. This tenth Special Cash Dividend is the fourth dividend per common share declared in 2011 and increases the total dividends declared since Commercial Production to $0.31 per share.

Gold Resource Corporation's President, Mr. Jason Reid, stated, "We remain focused on cash flow, dividends and returning as much money back to the owners of the Company, its shareholders. We are pleased with the progress of processing our Arista underground ore."

About GRC:

Gold Resource Corporation is a mining company focused on production and pursuing development of gold and silver projects that feature low operating costs and produce high returns on capital. The Company has 100% interest in five potential high-grade gold and silver properties in Mexico's southern state of Oaxaca. The Company has 52,998,303 shares outstanding, no warrants and no debt. For more information, please visit GRC's website, located at www.Goldresourcecorp.com and read the Company's 10-K for an understanding of the risk factors involved.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. When used in this press release, the words "plan", "target", "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the statements regarding Gold Resource Corporation's strategy, future plans for production, future expenses and costs, future liquidity and capital resources, and estimates of mineralized material. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to Gold Resource Corporation on the date of this press release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this press release. In particular, there can be no assurance that production will continue at any specific rate. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the company's 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact: Greg Patterson – Corporate Development 303-320-7708

SOURCE Gold Resource Corporation

PRECIOUS-Silver hits record near $50, first time since 1980 Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:47pm GMT

* Silver hits record high near $50 first time since 1980
* Spot gold hits record for a second day as dollar drops
* Inflation, economic uncertainty cited after Bernanke
(Recasts, adds comments, updates market activity, changes
byline, dateline, previously LONDON)
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, April 28 (Reuters) - Silver soared to an all-time
high on Thursday and gold rose to another record, as a falling
dollar and signs that the Federal Reserve would maintain a
loose monetary policy boosted precious metals' appeal as a
hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty.
Silver briefly climbed to within a whisker of $50 an ounce,
eclipsing the peak hit when Texan brothers William Hebert and
Nelson Bunker Hunt sought to corner the silver market three
decades ago. The metal later pulled back on technical selling.
"Yesterday's speech from the Fed was an acknowledgment of
the continuing of the strategy by the Fed and Washington ... to
monetize our debt, and basically to devalue the dollar," said
Robert Lutts, chief investment officer of Cabot Money
Management, which oversees more than $500 million in client
assets.
"The metal markets are recognizing that and it is being
priced in. What monetization means is that, down the road, we
will have more inflation," he said.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Take a Look on rise of gold, silver [ID:nLDE73E15G]
Graphic of silver best-performing commodity:
r.reuters.com/duj88r
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Spot silver XAG=, which has rocketed nearly 60 percent so
far this year, rose 1.5 percent to $48.49 an ounce by 12:24
p.m. EDT (1624 GMT), having earlier hit a record $49.51 an
ounce.
Adjusted for inflation, however, the current price of
silver is still sharply below its record at well above $100 an
ounce.
Spot gold XAU= rose to a lifetime high of $1,538.35 an
ounce, breaking records for the ninth time in 10 sessions. It
was later traded at $1,527.87 an ounce, up 0.1 percent.
Prices at 12:24 p.m. EDT (1624 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
US gold GCM1 1528.60 11.50 0.8% 7.5%
US silver SIK1 48.480 2.522 5.5% 56.7%
US platinum PLN1 1835.90 16.70 0.9% 3.2%
US palladium PAM1 774.05 15.95 2.1% -3.6%
Gold XAU= 1527.87 1.47 0.1% 7.6%
Silver XAG= 48.49 0.73 1.5% 57.1%
Platinum XPT= 1829.99 10.54 0.6% 3.5%
Palladium XPD= 770.97 7.52 1.0% -3.6%
Gold Fix XAUFIX= 1535.50 4.50 0.3% 8.9%
Silver Fix XAGFIX= 48.70 340.00 7.5% 59.0%
Platinum Fix XPTFIX= 1835.00 15.00 0.8% 6.0%
Palladium Fix XPDFIX= 777.00 8.00 1.0% -1.8%
(Additional reporting by Christopher Kelly in New York,
Rebekah Curtis and Amanda Cooper in London and Lewa Pardomuanin
Singapore; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Gold, Silver Extend Gains as Upside Momentum Builds After Weak U.S. Data 28 April 2011, 09:55 a.m. By Jim Wyckoff Of Kitco News http://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) -Gold and silver futures have tacked on more price gains in morning trading Thursday, following the release of U.S. economic data that suggested just a tepid U.S. economic growth rate. The latest gross domestic product figure came in at up just 1.8%, while weekly U.S. jobless claise rose. Precious metals traders viewed this data as another bullish signal that U.S. interest rates will remain very low and that inflationary price pressures could continue to build. The U.S. dollar index remains under selling pressure Thursday morning and is at a 2.5-year low. Comex June gold last traded up $17.00 an ounce at $1,534.10 and is poised to establish another new all-time high. May Comex silver futures last traded up $3.137 an ounce at $49.095 as the silver bulls have quickly regained strong upside technical momentum.

By Jim Wyckoff of Kitco News; jwyckoff@kitco.com