Gold fell to $915 in Hong Kong, but that would prove to be the low for the day, as it edged steadily higher to the mid-point of the NYMEX on Friday, nearly touching $929 before easing into a close on the Globex at $924.20/oz., up $3.80. For the week, gold added 2.5%.

Except for a couple of short, sharp dips in the far East, platinum was tightly rangebound between $2160 and $2180, ending in the middle at $2170/oz., down $3. For the week, platinum was up 2%.

Silver also bottomed in Hong Kong, pushed higher until the second hour of NYMEX trading, when it fell steeply into the noon hour, but then recovered and forged a nicely positive afternoon, closing at $18.19/oz., up 23 cents. For the week, silver rose 7.4%.
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It was a strong finish to the week for all of the precious metals, as they headed into the holidays with an uptrend interrupted by only one day of profit taking.

Support was added yesterday by the usual suspects, as oil rebounded from Thursday and the dollar fell again, but the action was muted as “the trading crowd thinned out and as few participants were willing to add substantial positions to logbooks at this juncture,” wrote Kitco’s Jon Nadler.

As gold climbs, while most shares in the companies who mine the stuff continue to languish, many investors are wondering why. There’s probably no simple answer, but Bill Murphy, of LemetropoleCafé.com, hazards a guess:

“At times like this,” Murphy writes, “when The Gold Cartel is going all out, it is critical to keep the big picture in focus. Gold is on pace to finish the year up again. This will make it 8 years in a row … and still Planet Wall Street pays it scant attention and only when it has to. The likely upside potential for gold and silver is staggering … as future demand for both will probably go off the charts, while mine supply is declining and available central bank gold supply dries up (already it seems the ECB banks are now inclined to keep most of what they have left).

“Yet, while gold will rise for the 8th year in a row, the shares of most of the gold/silver companies have been brutalized for the last couple of years, and gone in a complete tailspin vis-a-vis the bullion prices. It is a strange phenomenon which is somewhat difficult to explain. I attribute most of it to the market analysts. VERY FEW are bullish … most are neutral to bearish at these prices. FEW out there are telling Joe and Jane investor to buy, which means there is little demand … with all rallies sold before the coming price plunge.

“As a result, many share prices of the quality junior/exploration companies are at bargain basement prices. They present an extraordinary opportunity for investors with cash to put in play. At this point I have no idea when this demoralized sector will spring to life, except to say it ought to be sooner rather than later.”

Source: Gold Rises in Thin Pre-holiday Trading - Analyst Looks at Lagging Mining Equities