FTSE 250 movers: Gold miners jump as metals prices surge

11th Jul 2013 14:23

Rising commodity prices lifted equities in the mining sectors on Thursday with gold stocks among the best performers as the price of the precious metal jumped the most in a year on the back of comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.Bernanke said last night that the US economy needs "highly accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future" and assured markets that a increase in interest rates wouldn't be coming anytime soon. The remarks sparked a near-3.0% climb in gold futures for August delivery to $1,284.60 an ounce earlier on, the biggest jump for a most-active contract since June 2012, according to Bloomberg.African Barrick Gold was leading the risers on the FTSE 250, rising nearly 17% in afternoon trade. Precious metals peers Polymetal, Hochschild, Lonmin and Centamin were also surging today, helped further by a 4.3% increase in the price of silver and a 2.5% rise in platinum.Fund manager Ashmore was also higher after reporting that it was able to retain assets under management on last year during the final quarter despite more challenging market conditions.Balfour Beatty gained as it said it is pinning its hopes on a revival in the second half after its businesses in the UK and Australia struggled in the first six months of the year. "We expect our profits to be significantly more skewed to the second half than in previous years, with the full-year result remaining in line with management's expectations," the company said.Heading the other way was price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com which revealed slower trading in the second quarter due to ever-changing Google algorithms.FTSE 250 - RisersAfrican Barrick Gold (ABG) 114.80p +16.73%Polymetal International (POLY) 521.50p +8.85%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 375.40p +6.77%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 156.80p +5.23%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 157.50p +5.14%Hays (HAS) 99.65p +4.89%Premier Oil (PMO) 358.50p +4.76%Lonmin (LMI) 287.10p +4.21%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 38.25p +4.05%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 228.00p +3.87%FTSE 250 - FallersRedrow (RDW) 238.50p -2.61%Rank Group (RNK) 160.00p -2.44%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 198.70p -2.41%Informa (INF) 501.50p -2.15%Anite (AIE) 132.10p -2.15%Aveva Group (AVV) 2,501.00p -2.00%Telecity Group (TCY) 970.00p -1.87%Savills (SVS) 602.00p -1.79%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 341.70p -1.70%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 96.85p -1.58%BC