Which US presidential candidate does gold prefer?
Gold loves chaos and should be hitting new highs, especially with inflation coming down and with it, two rate cuts likely before year’s end.
The gold price gained $24 to $1,473 in afternoon trade on Wednesday within striking distance of a post-crash high which sent investors scurrying for gold mining stocks.
Bullion bulls are still nursing a 12% decline in the price of gold this year, but many market observers believe the en-mass dumping of gold counters may have been overdone.
While others may be convinced that today’s surge is nothing more than a dead cat bounce the fight-back from some of the most beaten down gold miners have been impressive.
Barrick Gold Corp (TSX:ABX) gained 8.6% to $21.50 as the Toronto-based global number one gold miner continues to recover from 20-year lows struck mid-April. Barrick is now worth $21.5 billion on the TSX, a $3.5 billion improvement in two weeks.
Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) with a market value of $16.8 added 4.5%, while the world’s third largest gold producer behind Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) shot up 4.7%. The Johannesburg-based company appointed its long-serving CFO to the top job today.
Fellow South African miner Gold Fields’ (NYSE:GFI) gains were more modest, up 2.4% on the day. Canadian gold counters Goldcorp (TSX:G) and Kinross Gold (TSX:K) – which this year overtook Goldcorp as the world fifth largest gold miner in terms of output – both traded up 6.3%.
Following the steep sell-off in Barrick, Goldcorp took the top spot as the world’s most valuable listed gold miner. After today’s gains the Vancouver-based company’s market value is $24.7 billion, down from a peak in 2011 of $30 billion.
Australia’s Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) missed out on the hefty gains and ended only slightly up on the Sydney bourse ahead of the gold price improvement in New York, while London-listed Polyus Gold added just over 1%.
Rounding out the world’s top 10 listed gold producers Harmony Gold Mining recovered from a hug hit a week ago following the Johannesburg-based company’s dismal forecast for the year and added 7.6% in New York.
Peru’s Compania de Minas Buenaventura (NYSE:BVN), which just edges out Canada’s Yamana Gold (TSX:YRI) in terms of annual gold production rebounded 3.7%. Yamana, which produces just over 1 million ounces per year gained 5.3% on the Toronto big board affording it a market value of $9.3 billion.
