Newmont, Barrick See Bright Future As Do Investors

SANDY SHORE

DENVER (AP) — The soaring price of gold added luster to third-quarter earnings at Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Mining Corp. sending their stocks higher Thursday.

Even a garish net loss at Barrick came with a silver lining. The company paid a premium to unwind a gold hedging program it used to lock in future sales, betting that sales will be so strong going forward it will easily forget about the $5.7 billion non-cash write-off.

Most investors agreed and Barrick shares jumped $2.45, or 7 percent, to close Thursday at $37.03.

Investors buy gold as a safe haven during difficult economic times and the price of the metal also rises as the dollar weakens. The price of gold climbed steadily since June and topped $1,000 an ounce in September.

Quarterly results at Barrick and Newmont were stronger as both cut costs and sold more gold at higher prices.

Barrick and Newmont, with operations ranging from the United States to Australia and Africa, also benefited from stronger copper sales and lower costs, such as fuel prices.