http://www.kitco.com/charts/livegold.html

cheers GF.

The price of gold spiked up by $23. yesterday ($1,335.)
I rest my case.

CP - pretty special circumstances made this sharp recovery inevitable would you not agree ..... certainly nothing to do with "real" demand and whether or not the recovery will continue or fade once things settle down in egypt, remains to be seen

btw, i'm not quite sure why US would allegedly want mubarak out -see telegraph front page c/o wikileaks

cynic pretty obvious US trying to avoid another Iranian situation.

haven't had a chance to read the paper yet, but "iranian situation" in what respect? ..... takeover by the fundamentalists? ..... if so, how does this fit in with the current scenario?

cynic the US won't get any thanks for continuing to prop up the obviously unpopular mubarak after the new regime takes over.

and what's the betting you'll find egypt going fundamentalist within the next few years? ..... bit like aesop's fable of the frog king

cynic the americans are only concerned about who controls the suez canal.

and you think a fundamentalist egypt will be a safer bet?

Other countries in the region will obviously be taking note on what is going on. Unfortunately,too,there is no quick fix.
Egypt , I suppose is somewhat different from most others in the region, in that the racial mix is rather more diverse. The problems ,though, are the same for everybody.
So, some sort of quick solution is needed to reduce the unrest. Getting rid of Mubarak would be a good start.

.

CP - frog king to you old son! ...... i think a fundamentalist state in egypt is a racing certainty within say the next 5 years, and that is another regime that has never heard of democratically elected gov't

POG is looking better, results which did not disappoint (for once)and a stronger gold price which responds well to news..

Cynic-you are obviously a critical reader of The Economist?

never read it, though my younger son does

I saw Peter Hambro this morning on Bloomberg, talking up business prospects with China.

George Soros sees a high chance of success in Egypt, see Muslim Brotherhood and Elbaradi co-operation, The Economist has a similar current lead editiorial position, i.e the West should celebrate not fear uprising in Egypt-perhaps cynic should do some new subscribing?

Questor share tip: Petropavlovsk ups its reserves
There was some positive news yesterday form Russian-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk, formerly Peter Hambro Mining. Questor says buy.
By Garry White 7:00AM GMT 23 Mar 2011
Comment
Petropavlovsk
10.46 +31p
Questor says BUY

The group unveiled an unscheduled update of its gold resources which led to a material uplift. Petropavlovsk said that its proven and probable ore reserves had increased by 36pc to 9.1m ounces at a grade of 1.17 grams per tonne of gold.

Much of the improvement is put down to successful exploration at the Malomir and Pioneer sites in Eastern Russia, as well as evaluation of proven and probable ore reserves for Petropavlovskoye in Yamal, Northern Russia.

Pavel Maslovskiy, chief executive said: "This significant uplift in ore reserves and mineral resources underlines the effectiveness of the group's strategy of delivering low-cost organic growth through extensive exploration work based on a deep knowledge of the regional geology."

Questor has no doubts over Petropavlovsk's long-term value, but there was a setback last year which has hit the shares hard. Management were over-optimistic about production and had to cut its guidance twice because of teething problems.

I reckon now is the right time to buy back in. Even allowing for the Russian discount factor, the PE of 10.3 falling to 8.9 is a joke when compared to its' peers . Randgold Resources for instance is on a PE of 91 !!!

Questor share tip: Petropavlovsk shares shine as a golden opportunity
Shares in gold producer Petropavlovsk, formerly Peter Hambro Mining, have been falling sharply of late. However, Questor thinks that the falls look overdone.
By Garry White 7:00AM BST 22 Apr 2011
Follow Garry White on Twitter

Comment
Petropavlovsk
910p +10
Questor says BUY

Yesterday, the company issued a strong first-quarter update. It said that total gold sold during the first quarter was 124,100 ounces, compared with 68,000 ounces in 2010, at an average price of $1,389 (839.73) an ounce. This is an 83pc increase in gold sold at a 27pc higher average sale price compared with the first quarter of last year.

During the first quarter, the total cash costs for producing an ounce of gold were lower than estimated although no figure was provided. A figure of about $630 an ounce has been mooted by analysts. However, African Barrick Gold said yesterday that its cash cost in the first quarter was $658 an ounce, up 28pc year-on-year, so this is an industry-wide problem. The fact that costs were below expectations is good news because investors have been concerned about the issue.

In its recent full-year numbers, the company said that 2010 cash costs had soared by 84pc to $558 an ounce. This was mainly down to lower grades at its Pioneer mine. Rouble inflation has also been a contributing fact in this Russian-focused miner.

However, the first-quarter update showed that progress is being made. Action taken last year should boost production in the current year by almost 20pc to 600,000 ounces. This 2011 production target was reaffirmed yesterday.

The group recently said that its proven and probable ore reserves had increased by 36pc despite the fact it had mined almost half a million ounces in 2010.

The figures for 2010, released at the end of March, were certainly disappointing. Alongside the rising cost issue, the company took a $35m write down on its titanium sponge joint venture after its partner, Chinese state-controlled group Chinalco, decided to withdraw from some of its non-core ventures.

However, 2011 looks set to be much better. The company has spun off its iron ore operations formerly known as Aircom in Hong Kong. The unit, now called IRC, is 65.5pc owned by Petropavlovsk.

The shares hit a record high yesterday, bringing IRC's capitalisation to HK$7.8bn (606m). This means that Petropavlovsk's stake is worth just under 400m, representing about 24pc of the group's current market value.

The earnings multiple for the year to December is 10.3, falling to 8.9. The prospective yield is 1.5pc.

This is a derisory rating for the gold operations, even taking Russian risk, inflationary pressure and development risk for new projects into account. It is interesting to note that the share price of IRC has been rising sharply, while the Petropavlovsk share price has been falling.

There have also been financing concerns for its expansion plans, but Petropavlovsk has agreed new bank facilities of $170m which should ease these concerns.

The shares have been tipped as a buy by Questor as high as 12.62, but gains were derailed by last year's production problems, so the shares are below this level. They were first recommended at 626.2p on July 21, 2009, and they are up 45pc from then, compared with a FTSE 100 index up 34pc.
The shares look undervalued compared with peers, despite some headwinds and the current level is a good entry point. The company needs to focus on costs and production and the share price will recover as the company shows the market it is delivering. Buy.

Is this a golden opportunity to buy now... looking cheap at 760p.

Interesting that Questor were saying 'buy' at 910p (& even at 1262p). Not sure I would be happy buying even at this level. Assuming the market is going to lose ground over the summer, I would not be looking to buy into this until late august. The graph shows no signs of strengthening, imo.

Not much to excite in the mining sector, all seem pretty static...bao going back again after getting excited for 5 minutes. Sounds like a good plan Harry, wait till autumn.