Resource Investor
Newsletter Brief

Good morning, Resource Investors.

Gold has drifted mostly higher during the thin volume of the holiday season. However, the yellow metal registered its first drop in four trading sessions on Tuesday as the dollar recovered in the wake of more positive economic data. Both consumer confidence and housing data suggested a level of stabilization in the economy. According to the Conference Board, more American's expect the U.S. economy to improve in 2010, and based on S&P's Case-Shiller index, the market value of U.S. homes in major metro areas are holding onto gains made earlier in 2009.

Although a stronger dollar typically would have a similar bearish effect on copper, a strike in Chile has instead spooked the market. Copper prices rose after thousands of miners at Codelco, the world's largest copper mine, announced an indefinite strike over a wage dispute. Prices rose to a 15-month high in London on the news.

Meanwhile, profit-taking appeared to rule the day in the crude oil market, which fell slightly. The February futures contract slipped 35 cents to $78.52 a barrel at Nymex. It was the market's first drop after five days of gains. For the year, crude oil has rocketed 77 percent higher, mostly on expectations of a global economic recovery and a weakening greenback.

For more on the reasons behind these moves, see these headlines, where you can catch up on what happened in the resource markets this past week -- and prepare for the next.

James Holter
Resource Investor

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Top Stories

FEATURED REPORTS

December 29, 2009
Today's gold market closed lower for the first time in four sessions as the very thin Holiday markets continue to drift....
December 29, 2009
Commitments of Traders reports provide a breakdown of positions by commercial firms and large traders in the resource markets. Here's the latest report....
December 28, 2009
The decade that ends Thursday is on track to be the worst in recorded history for the U.S. stock market. For gold, however, it has been a different story....
December 28, 2009
If you pause to reflect on how rapidly things are changing all around us, you will realize that momentum is building and the change is picking up pace....
December 28, 2009
Last Thursday's pre-Christmas break at the $1,100 level prompted speculators to throw some buy orders at the market with the expectation for a near-term bounce....
December 28, 2009
After decades of dictatorship, war and international sanctions, Iraq's massive oil reserves are set to be tapped. What are the prospects for the world market?...
December 27, 2009 - By Ernst & Young
The performance was a remarkable reversal of the dramatic decline that took place over the latter half of 2008...
December 22, 2009
Russia sees Central Asia as its natural backyard, but many countries no longer consider Russia as the most rewarding partner or one that should always have the upper hand....

HOT NEWS

December 29, 2009
A strike vote at one of the biggest copper mines in the world has shocked the supply side of the market and boosted prices....
December 29, 2009
Two companies are burrowing into the red bluffs and canyons of western Colorado and eastern Utah to dig out uranium and start the process of generating electricity....
December 29, 2009
IRC's board of directors believes that the proposed arrangement with Royal Gold, Inc. is superior to the Franco-Nevada offer and more attractive to shareholders....
December 28, 2009
Gold futures closed slightly higher in a choppy Monday session, as a weaker dollar and political tensions in Iran raised the precious metal's investment appeal....
December 28, 2009
The very thin and choppy gold market regained some momentum and closed a bit higher. ...
December 28, 2009
Thorium is gaining increasingly more mainstream press. Is major political pressure to adopt this new energy source close behind?...
December 27, 2009
Surging demand for iron ore is causing bottlenecks at China's ports and has pushed spot prices to their highest levels since the financial crash....
December 26, 2009
Some of today's greenest technologies are made possible by rare-earth elements, which come from some of the world's most environmentally destructive mines....
December 26, 2009
Regulators took another step toward smoothing the way for exchange-traded funds linked to the metals to trade in the U.S....
December 28, 2009
The agreement provides Pan Asia, a privately held resource development company, with the opportunity to earn a 60% interest in the Awak Mas project....
December 24, 2009
This has been a very interesting week in the precious metals markets....
December 23, 2009
The Royal Canadian Mint released findings of third-party reviews that account for the difference between the Corporation's stock keeping records and the physical amount of precious metals on hand for the 2008 fiscal year....
December 23, 2009
The gold market closed higher for the first time in seven days. ...
December 29, 2009
The Victoria Joint Venture has been expanded to include the entire ground that includes Iron Creek's Vaquillas Project....
December 29, 2009
The latest deal is part of a $1 billion buying spree by Macquarie Group, the large Australian investment bank....
December 26, 2009
Exploration work in the eastern region of north China's Hebei Province shows potential iron ore reserves in this area is estimated to top 10 billion tonnes....
December 23, 2009
Agreements now provide for initial exploration periods that have been extended from 36 months to 48 months, with a revised expiry of Jan. 17, 2011....
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