By Jeffrey Lewis, GoldSeek

In welcoming 2010, the stars could not be better aligned for precious metal investors. Stimulus spending, coupled with a low federal funds rate and a new jobs program, should put plenty of money in the hands of precious metals holders.

Stimulus and Silver

2009 was just the beginning for federal stimulus programs.  Although the American Reinvestment Act was pushed through Congress in a matter of days, the money has moved much slower.  Currently, only 58% of the allocated $158 billion has been awarded to start work on “shovel ready projects.”  However, of all the money awarded, only about $37 billion has actually been spent thus far.  Many more projects are slated to start early 2010, and nearly all of the money will have been spent by 2011.

This creates an excellent environment for precious metals investors who will be well served riding the tides of $260 billion in fresh cash for the economy.  With so much money being spent in such a short time frame, inflation is nearly guaranteed.

One beneficial part of the stimulus is that much of the contracting is given to small, local firms that exist in each Congressman’s district.   By allocating funds to smaller companies, it is likely that the funds will be spent quicker and in the locality that the project was requested, allowing for quick infusion of cash into local economies.

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GDP: Great Day to Play

Good Day,

Friday’s market sessions in precious metals started off on a tamer note, following the best gains in gold in three weeks. Explanations follow. The recapture of the $1045 area is noteworthy, although analysts we polled during the wee hours overseas are trying to define the move as everything from a ‘one-hit wonder’ to the ‘re-ignition of what we saw during most of October.’

The Bloomberg weekly survey foresees weaker gold prices come next week - not by a large margin (57% bearish)- but still focusing on a potential comeback by the US currency, the early signs of which became visible this past Monday. Demand for the yellow metal once again slipped away in India, following signs of life during the earlier part of the week when values came close to $1025 per ounce. The country recorded its sixth straight month of declining gold imports, despite a decent gain during September – in anticipation of festival-related sales.

New York spot dealings opened with a $2.60 loss in gold bullion, which was quoted at $1043.20 bid, as against a euro-dollar seen at $1.4798 and the USD index steady-to-higher, at 76.05, with little in the way of fresh news thus far this morning. Oil prices gave back about 50 cents of their whopper-sized Thursday gains, slipping to $79.32 per barrel. Risk traders took a latte break this morning, and this gave the dollar a moment to try to re-group.

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Read the rest of Gold, Silver, Metal Prices: Commentary – 10/30/2009 (2,324 words)

Gold and other precious metals spiked Thursday, as did crude oil and US stocks following a report by the Commerce Department saying the economy expanded at a 3.5 percent annualized pace in the third quarter. Gold’s rise broke a losing streak that had extended to five days. The Dow and S&P enjoyed their best one-day jumps in three months.

New York bullion figures follow:

• Silver for December delivery jumped 41.5 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $16.655 an ounce. It ranged from $16.12 to $16.71.

• Gold for December delivery advanced $16.60, or 1.6 percent, to $1,047.10 an ounce. The yellow metal ranged from $1,048.40 to $1,026.90.

• January platinum surged $31.30, or 2.4 percent, to $1,338.20 an ounce.

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Read the rest of Gold, Silver and US Stocks Rally (2,395 words)

ASX-listed iron-ore producer Gindalbie Metals has received its final environmental approval for the development of its Karara iron-ore project, in Western Australia.

The decision by the Federal Government’s Department of Environment, which followed the announcement of state environmental approval on September 9, represented the final regulatory approval required for on-site construction and development work at Karara to proceed.

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Aim-listed uranium exploration company Uranium Resources plans to raise £1,6-million by December to fund a proposed A$2,9-million cash-and-share deal to acquire its Tanzanian uranium projects joint-venture partners.

It would acquire the share capital of WML Uranium Holdings and Western Metals Tanzania, which were subsidiaries of the Indago Group, for A$2,5-million in cash and A$400 000 of new ordinary shares in Uranium Resources.

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The Duluth complex in Minnesota, U.S. hosts one of the world’s great polymetallic metals deposits and one of the key players is Canadian junior, Duluth Metals, which has just announced updated precious metals resource figures.

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Gold ended slightly lower Wednesday, marking the fifth consecutive day the yellow metal has declined. Again cited as the catalyst for the loses was a rallying US dollar. Silver and platinum also fell, as did crude oil which plunged 2.6 percent. US stocks followed along, with the three major indexes tumbling between 1.2 percent and 2.7 percent.

New York precious metals figures follow:

• Silver for December delivery fell 30 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $16.240 an ounce. It ranged from $16.155 to $16.77.

• Gold for December delivery declined $4.90, or 0.5 percent, to $1,030.50 an ounce. The yellow metal ranged from $1,042.60 to $1,027.10, which is the lowest price since Oct. 6.

• January platinum ended down $12.10, or 0.9 percent, to $1,306.90 an ounce.

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Read the rest of Gold Continues Decline for Day Five, Stocks Tumble (2,367 words)

New York gold futures ended lower Tuesday for the fourth straight day as the US dollar advanced on news of a decline in consumer confidence. Silver was hit exceptionally hard for the second straight day, falling more than 3 percent. Platinum declined as well. In other markets, crude oil finished 1 percent higher and US stocks ended mixed.

New York precious metals figures follow:

• Silver for December delivery plummeted 55.5 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $16.540 an ounce. It ranged from $17.250 to $16.500.

• Gold for December delivery declined $7.40, or 0.7 percent, to $1,035.40 an ounce. The yellow metal ranged from $1,044.30 to $1,032.90, which was the lowest level since Oct. 6.

• January platinum fell $26.80, or 2.0 percent, to $1,319.00 an ounce.

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Read the rest of Gold Drops for Fourth Day, Silver Plunges, Stocks Mixed (2,493 words)

India’s Sesa Goa, a $5-billion unit of London-listed metals group Vedanta Resources, is being investigated by the Indian government for financial and other irregularities.

India’s largest iron-ore exporter said on Thursday it and its unlisted Sesa Industries (SIL) subsidiary were under investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), and the probe had to be completed in six months.

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Midtier platinum-miner Aquarius Platinum posted a net profit in the September quarter, despite production falling by almost 25% as a result of industrial action and mine closures. The company, which owns mines in South Africa and Zimbabwe, boosted first-quarter profit to $9,5-million, from a loss of $21,5-million a year earlier, when sales adjustments caused by lower platinum group metals (PGMs) prices had negatively impacted on its performance.

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