India’s gold prices swing to premium ahead of Diwali festival

In a statement released to the Johannesburg stock exchange Monday, Gold Fields Limited said that production at its Cerro Corona mine in the Cajarmarca province in Peru has to date not been affected by the continuing protest actions against Newmont Mining and Buenaventura's proposed Conga gold mine.

Forbes reports billionaire investor George Soros is placing a very particular bet on gold by buying $40 to $50 million in shares of a Chinese jeweler ahead of its $2.8 billion IPO. Founded in 1929 Chow Tai Fook is bigger than Tiffany’s and is named after founder Chow Chi Yuen and “Tai Fook” means fortune, prosperity and luck in Chinese.

Reuters reports protestors abandoned roadblocks on Saturday after police were called in to secure access for basic goods to Cajamarca on day 10 of the conflict over Newmont Mining’s proposed Conga gold mine in northern Peru.

Nepal Gold and Silver Entrepreneurs’ Association has called for the closure of all shops selling and buying gold and silvers in the capital on Sunday. Gold and silver entrepreneurs took the decision to this effect in a bid to protest against the murder of a 25-year-old jewellery craftsman Jujubhai Bajracharya by an unidentified gang.

Forbes reports billionaire investor George Soros is placing a very particular bet on gold by buying $40 to $50 million in shares of a Chinese jeweler ahead of its $2.8 billion IPO. Founded in 1929 Chow Tai Fook is bigger than Tiffany's and is named after founder Chow Chi Yuen and “Tai Fook” means fortune, prosperity and luck in Chinese.

Coin Update reports for November 2011, sales of the United States Mint’s most popular gold and silver bullion coins fell to their lowest monthly levels in years after first slowing down in October. Sales of the one ounce American Silver Eagle coins were 1,384,000 for November, down by more than 50% from the previous month and down by nearly two-thirds from a year ago while the American Gold Eagle coin sales totaled 41,000 ounces for November 2011, down from 50,000 ounces in the previous month, and down more than half last year's monthly sales.

Kenya is set to join the league of gold-producing nations following the granting of the first mining lease to UK company Goldplat.

Gold hit a 2-week high on Thursday as gains in equities and the euro prompted buying from speculators after major central banks took coordinated action to prevent the euro-zone debt crisis from igniting a global economic meltdown.

North American stock exchanges are on a tear today after central banks made more funds available to lenders, giving investors hope for a way out of the European debt debacle. The markets were also cheered by better than expected private sector job growth in the United States. The mining-heavy S&P/TSX Composite was up 2.5% to just over 12,000 at time of writing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 384 points, or 3.3%, the most on a closing basis since Aug. 11, according to Bloomberg. Spot gold was up $32 from yesterday to $1747 which is just above the 20-day moving average of $1744, noted Kitco. Silver was up marginally to $32.86 from yesterday's $31.92, while benchmark copper was up more than 5% to a two-week high of $7,885/tonne. Zinc, lead, aluminum and nickel were also up from Tuesday.