TIG Post

Tag: Gold

  • Gold prices today fall as traders book profit at higher levels

    Gold and silver slipped in early trade on Monday as traders booked profit at higher levels but the losses were capped due to worries over fast spreading coronavirus pandemic across the country.

    The total COVID-19 patient count in India topped 11 lakh, the third highest in the world, with over 27,500 deaths. Due to this many states have increased restrictions on businesses and movement, threatening economic recovery.

    Gold futures were down 0.12 per cent or Rs 61 at Rs 48,906 per 10 grams. Silver futures dipped 0.15 per cent or Rs 70 to Rs 52,899 per kg.

    Gold prices in the national capital fell by Rs 271 to Rs 49,729 per 10 grams on Friday amid a strengthening rupee, according to HDFC Securities. Silver also declined by Rs 512 to Rs 53,382 per kg.

    Globally, gold prices edged lower on Monday due to a stronger US dollar, but worries over surging coronavirus cases and its impact on the global economy kept the safe-haven metal above the psychological level of $1,800 per ounce.

    Spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at $1,807.55 per ounce by 0242 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.1 per cent to $1,808.30.

    The dollar index rose 0.2 per cent against its rivals, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.

    Speculators reduced their bullish positions in COMEX gold and increased them in silver contracts in the week to July 14.

    Elsewhere, palladium gained 0.2 per cent to $2,024.40 per ounce, while platinum fell 0.6 per cent to $833.13 and silver dipped 0.3 per cent to $19.25.

    Source: The Economics Times

  • Coronavirus: Gold rate slips

    Gold and silver saw profit booking in the morning session on Monday as equities across the world continued their climb on hopes of swift economic recovery.

    Asian shares held near four-month highs as investors counted on super-cheap liquidity and fiscal stimulus to sustain the global economic recovery even as surging coronavirus cases remained a worry. Gold futures were down 0.36 per cent or Rs 174 at Rs 47,872 per 10 grams. Silver futures dipped 0.35 per cent or Rs 172 to Rs 49,005 per kg.

    Gold prices in the national capital jumped Rs 237 to Rs 49,022 per 10 gram on Friday, according to HDFC Securities. However, silver declined by Rs 740 to Rs 49,060 per kg. Globally, gold prices edged higher as worries over a surge in coronavirus infections in the United States dented optimism about signs of a nascent economic recovery, prompting investors to seek the safe-haven metal.

    Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent to $1,775.97 per ounce by 0031 GMT. U.S. gold futures eased 0.2 per cent to $1,787.30. Gold has also been benefiting from lower interest rates around the world and widespread stimulus measure from major central banks as it is widely viewed as a hedge against inflation and currency debasement.

    Palladium fell 0.3 per cent to $1,916.98 per ounce, while platinum rose 0.8 per cent to $806.30. Silver eased 0.1 per cent to $18.02.

    Source: ET Markets

  • Goldman Sachs raises 12-month gold price forecast to US$2,000

    Analysts at Goldman Sachs have raised their 12-month price forecast to $2,000 per ounce from the previous estimate of $1,800.

    The investment bank is of the opinion that a combination of above-2% US inflation and muted policy response is needed to lift the yellow metal above $2,000. The Federal Reserve is targetting 2% inflation and has pledged to keep rates near record lows until the goal is achieved.

    Goldman has also raised the three-month and six-month price forecasts to $1,800 and $1,900, respectively, from the previous projection of $$1,600 and $1,650.

    Gold is currently trading at $1,726, representing a 13% gain on a year-to-date basis.

    Source: fxstreet.com

  • Swiss authorities search for person who left $191,000 of gold bars on train

    Swiss police are looking for a forgetful individual who left something rather important on a train — a package full of gold bars, worth more than $190,000.

    The parcel containing the gold bars was found in the carriage of a Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) train travelling from the northeastern Swiss town of St Gallen to Lucerne, a city in the centre of the country, in October last year, authorities said.

    Despite “extensive investigations,” the owner of the high-value package had not been tracked down, officials said in a statement published in the local government Lucerne Canton gazette.

    After authorities failed to track down the owner of the precious cargo, the gold bars, worth 182,000 Swiss francs ($191,000), were confiscated by the public prosecutor’s office.

    Now, authorities have decided to publicize their quest to find the bounty’s mysterious owner.

    In a bulletin dated June 2, officials said the owner has five years to make a claim for the treasure.

    A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office told CNN that several inquiries had been made about the gold and were being checked. No details about the nature of the checks were given.

    Source: cnn.com

  • Swiss search for owner of gold haul left on train

    While many of us have left something on a train – a phone, a wallet, headphones – it’s highly unlikely you’ve wandered onto the platform leaving a bagful of gold behind.

    Well, one person in Switzerland has. And the authorities would quite like to find them.

    Efforts are being made to track down the owner of more than 3kg of gold that was left in a carriage last October.

    The hoard, worth around £152,000 ($191,000), was found on a train between St Gallen and Lucerne.

    The owner has five years to stake their claim at the prosecutor’s office in Lucerne, an official statement said.

    The discovery is only being made public now after efforts to track down the owner were unsuccessful.

    It’s unclear how authorities will verify the claims of anyone who comes forward to say the gold is theirs.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Gold prices today gain amid fast rising coronavirus cases

    Gold and silver prices gained on Tuesday amid fast rising COVID-19 patient count, especially in hotspots like Mumbai.

    A second wave of infections in other countries also increased worries of the investors making them flee from riskier assets.

    Businesses and citizens in less affected areas in India are enjoying relatively more freedom in movement. Meanwhile, the total number of COVID-19 cases rose sharply to close to 70,000.

    Gold futures were up 0.30 percent or Rs 139 at Rs 45,920 per 10 grams. Silver futures gained 0.22 percent or Rs 95 to Rs 43,325 per kg.

    Spot gold markets remained shut due to lockdown in the country to check the spread of COVID-19, according to HDFC Securities.

    Globally, gold prices were steady in early Asian trade on Tuesday after two straight sessions of falls, as a stronger dollar countered fears of a new wave of coronavirus infections in many countries.

    Spot gold was unchanged at $1,695.75 per ounce by 0038 GMT. U.S. gold futures eased 0.2 percent to $1,695.40.

    SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.05 percent to 1,081.07 tonnes on Monday.

    Palladium slipped 0.4 percent to $1,887.51 per ounce and silver fell 1.2 percent to $15.36, while platinum climbed 0.3 percent to $758.98.

    Source: ET Markets

  • Bole: One killed, four injured in an attack on gold buyers

    One person was shot dead while four others sustained gunshot and machete wounds when some armed men attacked some gold buyers at Accra-Dollar Power, an illegal mining community in the Bole District of the Savannah Region on Sunday evening.

    The gunmen, some wielding machetes and other offensive weapons are said to have stormed the community and fired gunshots indiscriminately, resulting in the death of one person and injury to four others.

    The deceased, according to the police has since been buried in accordance with Islamic customs and traditions while the three others who sustained gunshot wounds and another machete wounds are said to be on admission at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital in the Bono Region.

    The police gave the names of two out of three persons who sustained gunshots as Yakuba Amani and Bobuka Mukaila while the names of two others who also got injured during the attack were not disclosed.

    The Savannah Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Mr Enoch Adutwum Bediako told Graphic Online that on April 21, 2020, one Salifu Issaka, a resident of Accra-Dollar Power in Bole accompanied by Abubakari Ibrahim reported to the police in Bole that on April 19, 2020, at about 7.30 pm some unknown armed men stormed the community and attacked some gold buyers.

    He said the gunmen in the process fired gunshots indiscriminately that resulted in the death one person and the injury of three others while another also sustained machete wounds.

    DCOP Bediako said the deceased, whose name he did not disclose was buried on the orders of the unit committee members of the community in accordance with Islamic customs and traditions while the other four who got injured during the attack are all on admission at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital in the Bono region.

    He said the Bole District Police Command have begun investigations into the incident to bring the perpetrators to book.

    Background

    Accra-Dollar Power , an illegal mining and a border town in the Bole district which has gained notoriety for such violent crimes.

    On February 6, 2016, the Daily Graphic published a story headlined: “Soldier Killed by unknown assailants”.

    The story read that a soldier who was part of the Bole District Security Committee (DISEC) to Dollar Power to assess the security situation in the area was shot dead by some unknown assailants.
    Three other soldiers and a fireman who were part of the convoy to Dollar Power also got injured in the attack.

    The incident occurred four years ago when the Bole district was then part of the Northern Region.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Golden Star Resources to invest $10 million to revive Prestea Mine

    Golden Star Resources (GSR), a mining company, says it is investing US$10 million to revive operations at its Prestea Mine and to ensure it is streamlined to become profitable.

    The new capital will be invested in machinery, operation of a second level underground, access development, extensional drilling and other operations to get the mine to the next level and to enhance efficiency.

    Mr Andrew Wray, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Star Resources, said in a press briefing that although there were challenges at the Prestea Mine, the potential was there for it to be successful.

    “Prestea has the potential to be successful. What we believe the site needs is a plan for success and then the methodical execution of that plan,” he said.

    To properly prop up Prestea Mine to deliver, Mr Wray said enough time was spent in the second half of last year re-working the plan for the Mines and to support the team to deliver on the plan.

    “We are now given the team a plan that is achievable and we can then hold them to account,” he said.

    He said because the company was making an upfront investment in Prestea this year, it would be hit with some losses, but the expectation was that the Prestea Mine would be in a position to deliver from 2021 and beyond.

    “So Prestea is a very key focus for us and what that enables us to do, is to ensure that Wassa, which sits on the vast majority of business also gets the proper focus,” Mr Wray said.

    “Prestea is going to stand on its own two feet so that the profit that we generate from Wassa is reinvested in mining, and looking more regionally. “It is almost certain that there are other mines.”

    Apart from the investment in Prestea, Mr Wray said an additional US$45 million would be invested to expand operations at Wassa and to take it to the next level of growth.

    He said the focus was to start investing more in exploration programmes so that the company could deliver on the plans and promises to investors and the markets.

    Mr Wray said in 2018 and 2019 the business fell a little bit short of the guidance and the target it had set for the market largely because of performance at the Prestea Mines.

    He said while the investors knew the company was doing a great job, it was important to retain their trust and confidence in the business through good performance.

    On COVID-19, Mr. Wray said the Company had triggered all contingency measures to make sure production was not affected by coronavirus.

    He added, “As a business that has lived through Ebola, we have clear protocols and programmes in place and are ensuring that we monitor the risk levels and trigger-points.

    “This means protecting the people and the business. We are already screening people on site to ensure they do not pose a risk, and we have an isolation facility on site.”

    Source: GNA

  • Ounces of gold also went missing during galamsey fight – Small scale miners reveal

    Concerned Small Scale Miners have revealed that ounces of gold seized by the galamsey task force between 2018 and 2019 have also gone missing.

    This comes on the back of the arrest of some individuals believed to be connected to the alleged missing excavators seized from illegal miners as part of efforts to clamp down on the menace.

    Presidents of the Concerned Small Scale Miners Micheal Kojo Peprah in an interview with Citi FM said the situation warrants further investigation.

    According to him, it looks like the fight launched to solve the galamsey issue was just to enrich some people in the country.

    “You’ve seized people’s excavators and those excavators can’t be found, they have seized people’s gold and those gold can’t be found, peoples pickup we can’t find them and at the end of the day, we are back to the same problem. If you were able to seize over 500 excavators and imagine the ounces of gold that will be seized alongside because all those excavators were used in mining…….and no one has come out to say we have apprehended these people in galamsey and this is the exhibit or the gold that we found so it means this fight against galamsey people were using it to enrich themselves, and now that we have brought the military and we have failed what is next?.”

    We will get to the bottom of missing excavators saga – Police CID

    The Police CID has assured that they will get to the bottom of the missing excavators’ saga after arresting six persons including suspended Central Regional Vice-Chair, Ekow Ewusi.

    This comes after the Police Service issued a statement announcing the arrest of six (6) persons for their involvement in the missing excavators and other equipment seized by operatives of Operation Vanguard yesterday February 4, 2020.

    Speaking on Starr FM today, PRO of the CID Juliana Obeng said: Investigations has started and CID will get to the end of this matter. Again, the missing excavators will be found and persons in connection with it will be dealt with by the law”.

    The suspects have since been cautioned and are in police custody pending further investigations.

    The six persons arrested so far are; Horace Ekow Ewusi, Frederick Ewusi, Joel Asamoah, Adnan Haruna, Frank Gyan, and John Arhin.

    However, on Monday, February 3, 2020, the CID picked up Mr. Ekow Ewusi, who is one of the leaders of Operation Vanguard, for interrogation over his role in the missing excavators and other equipment seized from illegal miners.

    Source: primenewsghana.com

  • Two miners saved as Zimbabwe rescue mission continues

    Efforts are being made in Zimbabwe to bring trapped illegal miners to the surface, after a shaft collapsed at a gold mine killing at least two other miners.

    The BBC’s Shingai Nyoka reports that the national disaster management agency has rescued two miners from the site in the town of Kwekwe who are now in hospital being treated for their injuries.

    On Thursday it was thought that 20 people were trapped underground but the government now says it’s not sure how many people remain trapped because some could have found their way out through other tunnels within the disused mine.

    The Globe and Phoenix mine had been in operation since the 1800s but was closed down over a decade ago because it was deemed environmentally unsafe.

    BBC correspondents say there are reports this latest accident may have been caused by rockfall, though this has not been confirmed.

    Mining is a major source of foreign currency in Zimbabwe, which has vast gold and mineral reserves including diamonds and platinum.

    But mining is largely unregulated, leading to many accidents. Twenty-two miners were killed nearby a year ago.

  • Ghana tops Africa in gold production

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) October 2019 World Economic Outlook Report, has ranked Ghana first in Africa in gold production and sixth, with the United States of America in the world.

    Ghana has accrued US$7.4 billion from production of gold between 2016 and 2018.

    Menzgold requests proof of claims to begin paying customers

    China is the leading producer of gold in the world with estimated US$13.1 billion earnings, followed by Australia and Russia with production incomes of US$9.3 billion and US$8.5 billion dollar respectively. Kazakhstan was 5th with total gold earnings of US$8.4 billion. Peru, Canada and Brazil were 8th, 9th and 10th respectively with total value of gold earnings of US$6.2 billion, US$6.2 billion and US$5.4 billion respectively.

    South Africa was 2nd in Africa but 11th in the world with total gold earnings of US$4.5 billion. Ghana used to be the second largest gold producer in Africa and the 9th largest producer in the world.

    According to the report, demand for the precious metal can be classified as industrial, jewelry, and investment and net official purchases by Central Banks and international organizations. More than half of newly mined gold is however used in jewelry.

    At the same time, official sector gold holdings are large, accounting for about 30.0 percent of the global stock of gold.

    Ghana bagged US$2.9 billion in gold exports, up by 2.7 percent in year-on-year terms in the first half of 2019.

    This contributed significantly to the improved trade surplus of US$1.9 billion, representing 2.8 percent of GDP, compared with a surplus of US$1.25 billion (1.9 percent of GDP) recorded for the first half of 2018.

    Gold prices significantly recovered in June 2019 to levels last seen in May 2013 after trading at relatively lower prices over the previous three months. The yellow metal rallied 5.9 percent to close at an average of US$1,359.7 per fine ounce as heightened US-China trade tensions and Washington’s threat of tariffs on Mexico stoked worries of a global recession and drove investors to seek refuge in safe-haven bullion.

    The expected first gold pour of AngloGold Ashanti in December 2019 is expected to increase the export earnings of gold for the country. The company revealed it was on track to produce the first gold ounces at its redeveloped Obuasi mine by the end of December 2019 after resumption of operation early this year.

    We will not leave until we see Akufo-Addo Aggrieved Gold Coast customers

    Economy to grow at 5.6% 2020

    Meanwhile, the Ghanaian economy is expected to grow at 5.6 percent next year, lower than the projected 7.5 percent Gross Domestic Product in 2019.
    According to the IMF report, this will place it second behind Senegal and Ivory Coast. Senegal and Ivory Coast economies are expected to grow at a rate of 6.8 and 7.3 percent respectively. In 2018, the two countries economies will grow at 6.0 and 7.5 percent respectively.

    With respect to inflation, it will hover around 9.3 and 9.2 percent in 2019 and 2020 respectively, the Breton Wood institution report emphasized.

    Ghana’s economy grew by 6.7 percent year-on-year for the first quarter of 2019, according to the Ghana Statistical Service.

    This was compared with 5.4 percent the same period a year ago.
    Industry led the pack with growth rate of 8.4 percent followed by services with GDP of 7.2 percent. Agriculture on the other hand grew by a paltry 2.2 percent.

    Source: thefinderonline.com