LAKE SHORE GOLD CORP 6.25 PCT DEBS T.LSG.DB

Gold and the US$

[west12]

Gold Trades Near Two-Week High as Dollar Falls Against Euro March 1 (Bloomberg) -- Gold prices in Asia traded near a two-week high as the dollar fell against the euro, making bullion more appealing to investors as an alternative investment. The U.S. currency weakened as reports yesterday showed consumer confidence fell to a three-month low, manufacturing in the Chicago area dropped and new home sales were lower. The euro also rose because the European Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates as European inflation remains above the central bank's 2 percent target. Gold for immediate delivery was at $560.97 an ounce, down 58 cents, or 0.1 percent, at 12:27 p.m. in Tokyo. Prices rose 1.4 percent yesterday to $561.55, the highest since Feb. 9. Gold gained ``on the back of general dollar weakness,'' Darren Heathcote, head of trading at N.M. Rothschild & Sons (Australia) Ltd., said by telephone in Sydney. ``Inflationary concerns are still there. It's looking to be a positive pitch for gold.'' Gold futures for April delivery were at $563.70 an ounce, down 20 cents, at 12:43 p.m. Tokyo time in after-hours electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The euro traded at $1.1945 against the dollar, from $1.1921 yesterday, when it gained 0.6 percent, the most since Jan. 23. The ECB tomorrow will raise its benchmark rate by a quarter point to a 2 1/2-year high of 2.5 percent, according to all 46 participants in a Bloomberg survey. Gold for December delivery rose 9 yen, or 0.46 percent, to 2,110 yen a gram as of 11 a.m. on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange