Precious Metals Watch - Headlines
August 16 Gold Futures Boosted By Safe-Haven Buying
Gold futures gained Monday as soft economic growth data from Japan weighed on sentiment and sparked safe-haven buying.
August 16 Gold Climbs to 1-1/2 Month High on Global Cues
Gold prices regained to its one and half month high at the bullion market in Mumbai on Moday on persistent stockists and speculative buying, driven by surge in global markets. Tracking gold, silver also firmed up on sustained demand from industrial users.
August 15 Tons of Gold Imports From Ghana Turn to Dust
Several tons of gold imported into the UAE by traders and investors turned out to be fake on closer inspection, resulting in millions of dirhams in losses and high levels of stress to the victims.
August 6 TSX Closes Higher on Boost From Gold Stocks
The Toronto stock market closed slightly higher Friday with investor enthusiasm held well in check by weak jobs data from both Canada and the United States. The S&P/TSX composite index rose 25.2 points to 11,799.97 as disappointing earnings reports also weighed on the Toronto market while the TSX Venture Exchange added 6.41 points to 1,465.48.
July 22 Gold Reverses and Moves Up As Bargain Hunters Step In
Gold staged a comeback Thursday, posting gains after bottom fishers came in to snap up the metal at bargain prices and as other commodities rallied on enthusiasm about U.S. corporate earnings.
July 22 Huge DR Congo Gold Mine to Open, Displacing 15,000
The mine will require the re-location of 15,000 people, but Randgold says the project has the support of the government and the local community. The mine is thought to have a reserve of about 320 tonnes of gold, it says. It is as big as any of the current mines in South Africa, one of the world's biggest gold producers.
June 30 Burkina Faso Sees Gold Output Rising 60%, Seeks to Lure Newmont
Burkina Faso, the gold reserve-rich country in West Africa, says its output of the metal will surge 60 percent to 20 metric tons in 2010 as it seeks to lure foreign mining companies including Newmont Mining Corp. and Vale SA.
June 29 Gold ETF Swells to Pass $50 Billion Milestone
Amid all the market doom and gloom, the world’s largest gold fund is quietly celebrating another major milestone: SPDR Gold Shares, an exchange-traded fund backed by physical bullion, has recently surpassed $50 billion in assets.
June 18 Gold Hits New Record, Further Gains Seen
Spot gold hit a high of $1,260.20 an ounce US compared with $1,243.40 US late on Thursday. The rise in the gold price helped buoy gold mining stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with Barrick Gold, the world’s biggest gold producer, up 2.4% and Goldcorp gaining almost 2%.
June 9 Gold Running in Short Supply
Eric Sprott founded Sprott Asset Management in 2001 and has over $5 billion in assets under management. He has been an outspoken gold bull since 2000 and warned that the bursting of the Nasdaq bubble was the start of a long-term deflationary trend that is playing out. I met him last week in Toronto.
June 6 "Buyers Take a Shine to New Gold ETF"
Strong demand for a closed-end fund that holds gold bullion suggests that some affluent investors are willing to pay an expensive insurance premium for the ability to take possession of the precious metal.
June 4 "Gold Headed to $2,000 in Two Years"
Sprott Asset Management's Charles Oliver not only makes some bold predictions in this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, he backs them up.
May 31 Volatile Gold and Oil Create Quandries for Investors
With gold prices gyrating generally upwards and oil prices gyrating generally downward, investors are on the horns of a pair of dilemmas.
May 26 $1,500 Gold Price "This Year"
Risk appetites returned to the market yesterday, driving stocks, commodities, and precious metals higher - price action that appears set to continue today. Commodity currencies such as the Australian and Canadian dollars, which have been under pressure over the course of May, strengthened on the back of higher oil, copper, and gold prices.
May 25 Gold Finds Firmer Footing as Other Assets Crater
Gold prices found firmer ground as Tuesday's session progressed, posting gains for a second day as tensions on the Korean peninsula sparked selloffs in stocks and other commodities such as oil.
May 25 Gold Fluctuates in New York as Investors Sell to Cover Losses
“You always end up selling the asset that’s performed the best, so gold ends up getting sold when there’s liquidation pressure in other markets,” said Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago. “Gold is still a winner if it maintains its relative value against other assets.”
May 24 Goldcorp, Barrick Still Talking: CEO
Relations between the world's two largest gold companies have not broken down despite a messy legal battle, the chief executive of Goldcorp Inc. said yesterday. Their relationship became strained early this year, when Barrick launched a lawsuit against Goldcorp and New Gold Inc. regarding the El Morro copper project in Chile. Barrick claims it is the rightful owner of a 70% stake in El Morro, and that New Gold wrongly exercised a right of first refusal that allowed it to sell the interest to Goldcorp.
May 17 Sprott Physical Gold Delivers the Goods
Economic calamity in Europe has driven gold to a record high on safe-haven buying. And gold commodity and equity ETFs reflect the move. A new kid on the block has attractive investor attention. It's Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS) — the only ETF that lets investors redeem shares for actual gold bars.
May 17 Gold Eyes Record High as Investors Eye Europe Debt
The precious metal is up about 20 percent since early February. "It's the safe-haven thing. Gold doesn't earn you any interest or dividends, but who cares? ... The euro zone is a house of cards," a Europe-based trader said. The market has in recent weeks speculated the Greek government could default on its debt, rather than submit to austerity measures, designed to rein in its ballooning deficit.
May 12 TSX Rises as Gold Leads the Way
The Toronto Stock Exchange enjoyed a second straight day of gains yesterday as gold stocks rose along with the price of the precious metal. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 52.71 points, or 0.44%, to 12,000.61. Materials were the leading sector, with its large contingent of gold-producing firms.
May 11 Gold Price Soars to New Record High
The gold price rallied 2.6% to a new all-time high of $1,233, as the price of gold continued to benefit from skepticism over Europe’s ability to tame the sovereign debt crisis. With today’s gold price advance, the price of gold has climbed 4.6% in May, and 12.6% year-to-date.
April 28 Gold: All Eyes on Greece
Gold futures held steady while traders watched for developments on the debt problems of Greece and other European nations.... "Investment demand for gold via ETFs has been good," said Standard Bank analyst Walter de Wet. "As long as sovereign risk in Europe is called into question, we expect investment demand for gold to keep increasing."
April 27 Central Banks Turn Net Gold Buyers in 2009 - CMP Group
Central banks turned to buyers from sellers of gold for the first time in 20 years in 2009, driven by Chinese stockpiling and worries over global currencies, metals research and consultant CPM Group said on Tuesday.
April 26 South Africa's Gold Mines Need a Shake-Up and Fast
CAN the South African gold mining industry merge and split its way out of its problems? The answer to this question is so complex, it’s almost impossible to answer definitively, but the positive, almost enthusiastic, response of Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland to questions posed by journalists at the results last week suggests that a large-scale reconfiguration of the gold industry in SA seems likely.
April 22 Gold Price Tied to Inflation?
One significant factor underpinning the price of gold right now is high expectations of inflation increasing globally. Economic indicators out of Asia, particularly China and India, and other developing economies are already pointing in that direction
April 21 NY Gold Steady as Focus Returns to Greece
Gold futures are roughly steady in early trading Wednesday amid offsetting forces as the market focus returns to Greece's debt problems. The dollar is stronger, which tends to hurt gold since it reduces demand as an alternative currency. The metal, however, is drawing support on buying in euro terms due to the Greece issues, said Sterling Smith, commodity trading adviser and market analyst with Country Hedging.
April 13 You've Heard of Peak Oil. How About Peak Gold?
Many precious metals analysts and gold miners are taking a cue from the claims that global oil production will exhibit a peak, and then begin an inexorable decline accompanied by sharply higher prices. They're starting to say the same concept applies equally well to bullion and may lead to outsized investment returns from buying the yellow metal.
April 12 Big Miners Go Shopping for Production Assets
But rather than seeking million-dollar homes, these shoppers are on the hunt for billions in buried copper and gold, as scarce resources combine with recovering markets to kick off a flurry of mining takeovers. Spurred by strong economic signals, rising metal prices and rebounding stock markets, established miners have come out in force to snap up assets needed to ensure their future production.
April 11 The Power of Gold
Nothing says wealth and power like gold. So what should we make of Labour's disastrous $3.5bn sell-off of a decade ago and the current national mania for postal cash?
April 10 As a Currency, it Really is as Good as Gold
During prior economic downturns, gold has come to be seen as the only commodity that will hold its value as people turn from paper currency, other precious metals, energy products and even land.
April 9 Manipulation: Where is the Gold and Does it Matter?
The issue of manipulation in the gold market has sparked a series of particularly interesting developments in recent months, with the likes of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and many well-known investors and market pundits raising the profile of this long-debated topic.
April 9 Gold Hits Four-Month High
Gold futures found firmer footing, reaching a four-month high as a downgrade for Greece refreshed concerns about European debt and the global economic recovery.
March 31 It's Ponzimonium in the Gold Market
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a U.S. government regulatory agency, held hearings in Washington D.C. in late March regarding position limits in the futures market. People involved in the markets have known/suspected for years that they have been manipulated by certain large entities, notably JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
March 31 Gold's Low Correlation to Other Asset Classes
We at the World Gold Council, the market development body funded by the world’s biggest gold mining companies, spend much time analyzing the performance of gold in a variety of financial and macroeconomic environments. As such, we have found that changes in the price of gold do not correlate with changes in the prices of other financial assets regardless of the health of the financial sector or broader economy. Over the past 10 years the average correlation of gold to U.S. equities and Treasury bills has been virtually zero.
March 29 China's Demand for Gold Rises
China's gold jewelry and investment demand could double in the next decade even as the country's mining output declines, according to a World Gold Council report. "Our analysis shows that if gold demand were to continue to increase so markedly, domestic supply would be unable to keep pace," Eily Ong, investment research manager at the World Gold Council and author of the report, said Monday. "Whatever the outcome, China's outlook will almost certainly have implications for the global market."
March 29 Gold Ticks Higher with Euro
A softer dollar helps commodities generally by making them less expensive for the holders of other currencies. In addition, gold specifically tends to benefit from buying as a hedge against dollar weakness.
March 26 Gold Gains on EU Debt Pact, South Korea
Gold futures closed higher, initially rising with the euro after an accord among European leaders to help Greece with its debt issues and extending gains after news reports of a South Korean naval ship sinking near the North Korean border.
March 25 In Gold We Trust
In the cool weather of the first few months of the year, India’s wedding season swings into high gear. Indian brides and grooms of means like to stage lavish celebrations, and on display at those nuptials is another grand Indian love affair: gold, for which the country has had a long-standing affection. India is the world’s biggest consumer of the commodity, and much of it goes into women’s jewellery.
March 24 Gold is the Best Hedge Against Looming Inflation
You've heard the argument against owning gold a thousand times. It goes something like this: "Gold has little to no utility and doesn't earn any interest, so why own it?" The answer is that you really have no choice but to own it when the government and central bank are destroying the value of your currency.
March 17 Comex Gold Futures Continue Uptick After Fed
Gold futures are slightly higher Wednesday morning after the Federal Reserve left interest rates at record lows and as U.S. price data cause some to believe the central bank will remain accommodative for longer.
March 12 Kinross Prospects for Growth
“As a result we are always looking to trade lower margin assets for higher margin assets and that's not always conventional wisdom in the gold mining industry.” It's that mindset that has propelled Kinross to boost its presence in Russia, sell down its stake in a Chilean mine project, and return to Canada after a two-year absence – all in the past two months.
March 8 Gold on the Move Again?
Gold bugs argue that even extreme dollar-centric investors should take notice, because of the possibility of momentum buying from European traders influencing U.S. dollar pricing. Could the foreigners know something?
March 8 Australia's Gold Output Rose in 2009
Gold output rose by 7 t to 62 t, compared with the September quarter 2009, and by 14% compared with the December quarter 2008. For the full 2009 calendar year, Australia produced 227 t, or 7,3-million ounces of gold, an increase of 3% on the 2008 year.
March 8 Gold Traders Step Up to Hedging on Bourses
Indian gold traders are increasingly turning to hedges on local bourses to fight price volatility as they seek to revive from weak consumption seen last year, exchange officials and analysts said.
February 25 China to Purchase Half of IMF's Gold
China has confirmed the intention to purchase 191.3 tons of gold from the International Monetary Fund at an open auction, Finmarket news agency said.
February 25 Participants Buy Back Gold; Metal Moves Up
Gold futures erased slight losses Thursday and moved into positive territory as participants bought back previously sold positions and flight-to-safety buying offset some earlier selling on waning risk tolerance.
February 17 India Gold Demand Remains Slack as Prices Climb
India's gold demand for the fourth quarter to December rose 13 percent to 180.7 tonnes on year as weddings and festive demand peaked, helping India retain its position as the world's largest consumer.
February 11 Canadian Firm Buys Abandoned N.L. Gold Mine
A Canadian company believes a southwestern Newfoundland mine that closed more than a decade ago may present it with a golden opportunity. Work stopped at the Hope Brook gold mine in 1997, but now Castillian Resources has bought the property and plans to reopen it. Company president Bill Pearson said Wednesday that the price of gold is high, and his company believes only half of the deposit at Hope Brook has been mined
January 25 Precious Metals: NY Gold Up on Bargain Hunting as Stocks Rise
A trader commented that the metals were helped by a slightly improved macroeconomic outlook, based on gains in other markets such as equities and commodities, generally that reflected improved risk appetite. Shortly before gold closed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by around 65 points, with equities traders linking this to investors looking to pick up shares at what they perceived as attractive prices following a sharp slide late last week.
January 25 La Mancha Sees 2010 Gold Production Rising up to 48PCT
Canada's La Mancha Resources Inc (LMA.TO) on Monday said it expects to increase consolidated gold production by up to 48 percent in 2010, helped by a ramp-up of operations at its Australian mines.
January 21 Gold Drops as China Data Spur Tightening Jitters
Gold for February delivery was recently down $6.30, or 0.6%, at $1,106.30 an ounce. Chinese data released Thursday showed economic growth jumped 10.7% in the fourth quarter, putting the full-year figure above forecasts, while inflation surprised to the upside, suggesting recovery is continuing but fiscal and monetary policy may need to be tightened.
January 21 World Gold Council: Fourth-Quarter Investor Gold Demand Strong
According to the World Gold Council, a mining marketing group, the gold price rose for the ninth consecutive year to $1,087.50 an ounce at the end of December, a 25% increase in the price of the yellow metal during the year.
January 15 Metals May Be Set for Encore to Last Year's Climb
It'll be tough for metals to outdo the spectacular annual gains they saw in 2009, but a few have a shot and most are likely to continue to see prices climb this year. That's not a bad assessment for a market that's already posted yearly price gains of around 24% in gold, 49% in silver, 117% in palladium and nearly 140% in copper.
January 14 Eldorado Sees its Gold Output Rising Sharply
Canadian gold mine Eldorado Gold Corp (ELD.TO) said on Thursday it expects its gold production to rise by 60 percent to 75 percent this year, largely due to gains from acquisitions.
January 13 2009 was Golden Year for Gold Miners
RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Curran tracks financing in the sector. He calculated that in 2009, there were 151 separate deals that raised over $18.6-billion for North American gold companies. That is the most ever raised in a 12-month period, and it is a remarkable rebound from the credit crunch days in 2008, when less than $3-billion was raised.
January 7 Why is China Buying More Gold Than India? (The Economic Times)
China is buying gold for the same reason we buy life insurance policies: peace of mind. The Chinese government has a kitty of over $2 trillion, mostly greenbacks. Unfortunately, Beijing is not terribly fond of this currency right now. It believes the dollar may well become a dud, given Uncle Sam’s economic troubles. So, it wants to stock up on something whose value does not change with one country’s policy moves. Gold fits the bill.
January 5 Century Completes Financing Package
Century Mining Corp. said yesterday that completion of a $60.75-million financing package will enable it to reopen the Lamaque underground gold mine near Val d'Or and put it into commercial production in 2011.
January 4 Canadian Gold Stocks Rally as Gold Price Opens 2010 Higher
Investors continue to seek greater leverage to the price of gold through shares of gold mining stocks - many of which are domiciled in Canada. Home to many of the largest gold producers in the world,