Gold Pushes Higher Still

The greenback has slumped so far this year on expectations that the Federal Reserve will stop its 22-month-long campaign to raise interest rates. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke last week seemed to hint that the Fed was considering to pause the campaign.

But Monday afternoon, CNBC's Maria Bartiromo reported that Bernanke told her over the weekend that markets had misunderstood his remarks and that he didn't want to send dovish signals.

In a speech Wednesday, Bernanke stayed clear of economic and monetary policy themes.

Meanwhile, shares of metal-mining companies headed lower. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver index finished down 1.2%, the Amex Gold Bugs index lost 1.8%, and the CBOE Gold index was down by 1%.

Barrick Gold (ABX Quote) dropped 0.5%. The Toronto-based company, now the world's largest gold producer since its acquisition of Placer Dome, posted better-than-expected profits after the close thanks to soaring gold prices.

Barrick reported earnings of $224 million, or 29 cents per share, for the first quarter, compared with $66 million, or 12 cents per share, the year-earlier quarter. The Thomson Financial consensus forecast of analysts was for earnings of 23 cents. Barrick shares were recently up 0.2% in after-hours trading.

Glamis Gold (GLG Quote) lost 1.8% after posting first-quarter earnings of 13 cents vs. 2 cents the year-earlier quarter, missing the Thomson Financial consensus forecast of 17 cents.

Meridian Gold (MDG Quote), whose first-quarter earnings topped expectations by 1 cent on Tuesday gained 2.4%.

While dollar weakness might be benefiting the price of gold, Lehman Brothers metals analyst Peter Ward notes that it isn't good for those mining companies under his coverage that have substantial operations in Australia, Canada and South Africa, where local currencies have been appreciating.

Meanwhile, some mining stocks, such as Idaho-based miner Coeur D'Alene (CDE Quote), down 1.7%, and Denver-based Apex Silver Mines (SIL Quote) -- which lost another 2.4% after a 17% plunge Tuesday -- have also been hit by concerns over the potential nationalization of their assets in Bolivia.

Bolivian President Evo Morales, who announced Monday the nationalization of the country's gas projects, said he was also planning the same for Bolivia's vast mining industry, which includes gold and silver projects.

Newmont Mining (NEM Quote), which owns an 88% stake in a gold mine in Bolivia, dropped 2.8%. IamGold (IAG Quote), which has some royalty interests in Bolivia, also fell 2.8%.