Commodity price declines reflected in share prices
- Publishing Date
- 26 Feb 2010 1:32pm GMT
- Author
- Mining Journal
Only a few main board shares showed gains this week as key commodity prices declined over the period. A slight rebound on Friday did help pare weekly losses.
The price of copper fell by over 4% during the course of the week, pushing it into negative territory for the year so far.
Financial results drove the share price of the companies that gained ground, such as Anglo Pacific Group plc and New World Resources NV.
The royalty-earning company Anglo Pacific showed better-than-expected revenues, while New World continues to spruce up its balance sheet and the outlook for coking coal markets is improving.
The price of International Ferro Metals plc remained flat for the week as it also reported numbers reflecting improvement in the ferrochrome market.
The share prices of the big four majors all showed losses this week, with Xstrata plc falling the most (down over 7%) and BHP Billiton the best (down by under 2%).
Diamond producer Gem Diamonds Ltd fell the most (down 7.3%), although there was no published news to explain the drop. Rival Petra Diamonds Ltd announced on Friday morning that it had sold its 507ct Heritage stone for US$35.3 million at auction.
On AIM, a range of gold producers were the best performing companies amongst the juniors, despite the price of bullion dipping below US$1,100/oz during the week.
Gold spent two days below the US$1,100 mark, as investors became cautious with the US dollar continuing to grow in strength, before settling at about US$1,110/oz on Friday.
Of the emerging gold miners, Argentina-focused Patagonia Gold plc led the way with a 16% rise. On Friday, the company was threatening its 52-week high (the £0.19/share achieved late last year).
Australian gold producer Leyshon Resources was the next best performing company with a gain of almost 16%. Other notable risers, also involved in gold, included Central China Goldfields plc and Conroy Diamonds & Gold plc, with advances of 15% and over 14%, respectively.
The improvement of the junior gold producers follows the sharp rise of Cluff Gold plc last week after the share price of London-based miner jumped 27% amid rumours of a potential takeover.
Niger Uranium Ltd was the biggest faller on AIM, dropping an astonishing 49% as the African nation had to contend with a military coup this week. Home of amongst the largest uranium deposits in the world, news reports have suggested the coup was in-part fuelled by the potential of this commodity.
Despite releasing positive exploration results from its South Zone prospect, Mozambique-focused Baobab Resources plc also tumbled, falling 16%.
Other companies to head in the wrong direction included Russian miner Amur Minerals Corp and GMA Resources plc, dropping 16% and 14%, respectively.
The price of copper fell by over 4% during the course of the week, pushing it into negative territory for the year so far.
Financial results drove the share price of the companies that gained ground, such as Anglo Pacific Group plc and New World Resources NV.
The royalty-earning company Anglo Pacific showed better-than-expected revenues, while New World continues to spruce up its balance sheet and the outlook for coking coal markets is improving.
The price of International Ferro Metals plc remained flat for the week as it also reported numbers reflecting improvement in the ferrochrome market.
The share prices of the big four majors all showed losses this week, with Xstrata plc falling the most (down over 7%) and BHP Billiton the best (down by under 2%).
Diamond producer Gem Diamonds Ltd fell the most (down 7.3%), although there was no published news to explain the drop. Rival Petra Diamonds Ltd announced on Friday morning that it had sold its 507ct Heritage stone for US$35.3 million at auction.
On AIM, a range of gold producers were the best performing companies amongst the juniors, despite the price of bullion dipping below US$1,100/oz during the week.
Gold spent two days below the US$1,100 mark, as investors became cautious with the US dollar continuing to grow in strength, before settling at about US$1,110/oz on Friday.
Of the emerging gold miners, Argentina-focused Patagonia Gold plc led the way with a 16% rise. On Friday, the company was threatening its 52-week high (the £0.19/share achieved late last year).
Australian gold producer Leyshon Resources was the next best performing company with a gain of almost 16%. Other notable risers, also involved in gold, included Central China Goldfields plc and Conroy Diamonds & Gold plc, with advances of 15% and over 14%, respectively.
The improvement of the junior gold producers follows the sharp rise of Cluff Gold plc last week after the share price of London-based miner jumped 27% amid rumours of a potential takeover.
Niger Uranium Ltd was the biggest faller on AIM, dropping an astonishing 49% as the African nation had to contend with a military coup this week. Home of amongst the largest uranium deposits in the world, news reports have suggested the coup was in-part fuelled by the potential of this commodity.
Despite releasing positive exploration results from its South Zone prospect, Mozambique-focused Baobab Resources plc also tumbled, falling 16%.
Other companies to head in the wrong direction included Russian miner Amur Minerals Corp and GMA Resources plc, dropping 16% and 14%, respectively.
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