It has been hard out there for a Gold bull in recent weeks. The metal has been getting hammered on all fronts as concerns are being raised on all fronts. Have gold prices in a sense become a bubble? What if the economy continues to sputter along just well enough not to demand another round of monetary easing or other Fed action?
Those that see gold as the salvation for what they deem ‘central planning run amok’ will always say buy the dip. They have been long a long time and their entire investment thesis is based off fiat currencies will die off and hard-backed currencies will return. Rightly or wrongly, they will buy and hold till the end of time so to speak.
It is the trader that looks at the metal as more of speculative play that is beginning to crack. Over the past few days you India start to ramp up taxes on gold imports. Government always finds a way to increase revenue on the back of commodities that the populace really wants. Now imagine if China does the same. What effect would that have on demand? It would almost assuredly plummet as speculators in that country would move on to something else they can sell to the masses with better margins.
Which scenario plays out over the coming months will be interesting. Will the data points that have bolstered the recovery slow or reverse enough to warrant QE 3? Or will demand soften on a continued recovery and emerging taxes on gold imports?
Gold Stocks to Watch
Yamana Gold, Inc. (NYSE:AUY) closed Friday up 3.51% at $15.92. AUY traded 6.6 million shares last week, a bit less than its daily average of 7.2 million shares. AUY shares closed the week about $0.40 higher from where they started last Monday. The company has a market cap of 11.87 billion.
Goldcorp Incorporated (NYSE:GG) ended Friday up 1.67% at $44.55. GG traded 4.1 million shares on Friday and trades 5.1 million shares a day on average. GG closed the week out slightly higher than where it began on Monday. The company has a market cap of 36.09 billion.
Iamgold Corporation (NYSE:IAG) closed Friday up 0.23% at $13.22. IAG traded 2.5 million shares on Friday and trades 2.6 million shares a day on average. Last week, IAG ended about $0.20 lower than where it opened on Monday. The company has a market cap of 4.97 billion.
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) ended Friday up 1.58% at $43.76. ABX traded 6.7 million shares on Friday, slightly below its daily average of 7.3 million shares. ABX closed the week out down about $0.40 a share. The company has a market cap of 43.78 billion.
Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) closed Friday up 0.91% at $10.03. KGC traded 7.2 million shares on Friday, 2 million shares less than it trades on average. KGC ended the week flat at around $10 a share. The company has a market cap of 11.41 billion.
Eldorado Gold Corp. (NYSE:EGO) closed Friday up 4.04% at $13.40. EGO traded above average volume on Friday with 4.4 million shares traded. EGO ended the week flat. The company has a market cap of 7.39 billion.
SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) closed Friday up 1.23% at $161.53. GLD traded 10.6 million shares on Friday and trades 12.3 million shares a day on average. GLD closed the week slightly higher after being down as low as $158.50.
About Kyle Pinder
