By Myra P. Saefong www.CBS.MarketWatch.com July 11, 2001 NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Shares of most metals companies and gold futures prices shined Wednesday, reflecting strong demand for the precious metal that surfaced at the Bank of England's gold auction. Earlier Wednesday, the Bank of England held its second auction in a series of six that began in May. It sold 643,600 ounces, or about 20 metric tons of gold, at a price of $267.25. Bidders applied for 2.6 million ounces -- an over-subscription rate of 4.1 times. "This was taken well by the market, as most expectations were for a rate of under 3," said David Meger, Alaron.com's senior metals analyst. The auction price underscored "good demand and willing buyers," he added. Bidders at the last auction, held on May 15, applied for 2.4 million ounces of gold at a price $268 an ounce, with the over-subscription rate at 3.7 times. Following the auction results, the CBOE Gold Index climbed by 3.4 percent to stand at 40.66, while the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index rose 3.8 percent to 54.74. Among individual stocks, shares of Anglogold tacked on 60 cents to trade at $18.85, Agnico-Eagle Mines gained 29 cents to $9.18, and Barrick Gold added 71 cents to $15.36. On the futures market, gold for August delivery traded at $268.50 an ounce, up $1.80 on the session. As of late Tuesday, inventories of gold on the Commodities Exchange were up 16,646 to 903,750 ounces. September silver gained 0.2 cent to $4.265 an ounce. Comex inventories of the precious metal were flat at 99,267,073. In other metals action, September palladium climbed by 50 cents to $564.50 an ounce. October platinum added $8.70 to $560 an ounce. -END- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/