Saturday January 26, 2008

Gold soars above US$920 as power crisis closes South African mines

financialpost.com :

Gold and platinum hit all-time highs on Friday [25 Jan 2008] after a power crisis closed South African mines, with dollar weakness, firm oil and expectations of more interest rate cuts in the United States providing additional support. South Africa's three main gold producers and the world's biggest platinum miner suspended production at all their mines due to a power crisis. Spot gold hit an intraday high of US$922.40 an ounce, surpassing last week's record. Platinum also hit an historic high at US$1,652 an ounce.

bloomberg.com :

AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields and Anglo Platinum shut their South African mines as the nation's power shortage worsened, threatening growth in the continent's biggest economy. Eskom, which supplies 95% of the country's power, can't meet demand after the government delayed a decision on expansion by four years. South Africa is the world's biggest platinum producer and ranks second, after China, for gold output. Power cuts are expected to last until at least 2013, Eskom has said. The shutdowns mean entire regions of South Africa are dark for up to five hours a day, triggering traffic jams and emptying shopping malls.

- More fuel for the golden rocket. If you are long, hold on and enjoy the ride. Support levels are around $880, $850 and $800. Breaking all-time records means that all resistance levels are broken, we'll have to see how high it goes in order to define the next level.

See also :

1. Gold reaches record, breaching $900, on US interest rates
2. Gold breaks 28-year record to hit $859 per ounce
3. Gold hits record $876 on crude oil, dollar

(2008-01-26 01:03:10 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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