::::::::::::::::: OXUS GOLD 2005 :::::::::::::::::

Wall Street metals - Gold reclaims $511 mark as upward move resumes
NEW YORK (AFX) -- Gold futures resumed their upward move early Monday, with
analysts expecting the contract to attempt to consolidate above the
$500-an-ounce level and then move higher in the new year.
Gold for February delivery was last trading up $5.10 at $511 an ounce. The
contract fell for a fourth consecutive session on Friday, falling under $506 an
ounce to finish the week nearly 5% lower.
"Gold is likely to build a base above $500 during thin market conditions
over the next two weeks and enter 2006 aiming for a minimum target of $600,"
said Peter Grandich, editor of the Grandich Letter.
At J.P. Morgan, analyst Michael Gambardella agreed that the metal's bull run
is not over, although there is a risk of a moderate post-Christmas pullback.
"If gold were moving because of recent trends in the dollar or interest
rates then the longevity of the uptrend would be more difficult to forecast,"
Gambardella said in a research note.
"However, our thesis through the year has been that gold is in a longer-term
uptrend based on a capping of supply from the mines in combination with the
prospect of an escalation in the evolution of the Chinese luxury-goods cycle and
jewelry purchases.
"Such trends do not turn around overnight, as dollar and interest-rate
trends are able to do, and so we believe that gold is still in an early stage of
its upward cycle," he wrote.
Also early Monday, silver was last up 6.50 cents at $8.665 an ounce.
Platinum added $15.30 to $976.30 an ounce, and palladium rose $3.30 to $268
an ounce.
Copper bucked the trend, with the industrial metal down 0.40 cent at $2.025
a pound.

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