Gold and Silver Fall, Agnico-Eagle Plunges 19%

On Wednesday, gold?(NYSE:GLD) futures for December delivery declined $5.80 to settle at $1,647 per ounce, while silver (NYSE:SLV)?futures fell 55 cents to settle at $31.27.

Despite the Bank of England ramping up the printing presses, gold and silver could not mount a rally.? The Bank of England��s Monetary Policy Committee voted to add another ��75 billion of quantitative easing in order to support the weak UK economy.? After discussing earlier this month to inject between ��50 billion and ��100 billion, the Monetary Policy Committee voted 9-0 for more QE.? In September, only one MPC member desired more QE, but now, all 9 members are in favor of more QE after citing a dramatic deterioration in the international outlook as a key factor.

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In afternoon trading, gold miners (NYSE:GDX) such as Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) and Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) fell 3.5% and 4.3%, respectively.? Silver miners (NYSE:SIL) First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) and Endeavour Silver (NYSE:EXK) both fell nearly 7%.? After trading higher on third quarter earnings, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX) reversed course and headed 3% lower as strike and production issues remain.

Shares of Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) fell the especially hard today after the company said it was suspending operations at its Goldex mine at Val d��Or, Quebec, becasue of water inflow and ground instability.? There is no time table when the suspendsion may end.? Agnico will write-off its investment in Goldex, resulting in a pretax third quarter charge of $260 million.? As the chart above shows, shares plunged 19% on the news.

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Endeavour Silver announced on Wednesday that it has acquired an option to purchase the Lomas Bayas silver-gold property in the Copiapo region of northern Chile.? The company reported, ��Endeavour can acquire a 100% interest in Lomas Bayas for cash payments totaling US$2,500,000 over a eighteen month period followed by a final cash payment ranging from US$10 to $15 per ounce of gold equivalent reserves and resources (with silver as the only equivalent) as estimated in an independent NI 43-101 report on the property within 24 months of signing the agreement.��

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