Monday, December 12, 2016

Woe is gold: monetary metal drops below US$1,200 for first time in a year

Donald Trump’s pledge to fire up the American dollar printing machine again is having the same effect on gold as did the previous three programs of quantitative easing since 2008. That added US$4.5 trillion to the global currency inventory and kneecapped what had been a nearly ten-year run in the gold price, which peaked in September 2011 at US$1,923.70.

Despite this glum statistic, financing activity in the gold sector throughout 2016 has charged forward unabated after a four-year lull ended with a sudden jump in the gold price that made the TSX Venture the best performing index in the world in the first six months of the year. Even with the onset of intense weakness since the election of Donald Trump, financing activity and interest hasn’t much subsided — at least, not with industry insiders.

Recent financing bulletins show mining industry luminaries like Eric Sprott, Ross Beaty, George Soros, and others piling into companies ranging from Barrick to newer issuers in the exploration space. So what’s the deal? Wasn’t it a weakening gold price in 2011 that sent these very same tycoons heading for the hills?

Well… not really. Since 2011, at least, Sprott and the company he keeps have been actively accumulating positions in mines and the companies who own them, as the weak prices in gold cause valuations in mines to tumble as well, making it a buyer’s market. By way of example, Sprott acquired an 11.6 per cent interest in Redstar Gold Corp earlier this month. Redstar is currently trading at around $0.13 per share...

- Source, Financial Post, read more here: