Time for gold majors to own up
Gold quarterlies: the Ides of January (or, crunch time) as reporting season cranks into gear.
Author: Barry Sergeant
Posted: Thursday , 28 Jan 2010
JOHANNESBURG -
Buying interest in mining stocks generally has lost momentum this year, led down by ongoing profit-taking in gold producers, with dollar gold bullion trading just under USD 1,100 an ounce, and showing little interest in making a fresh attempt on the all-time record nominal level of USD 1,226.56 seen early in December 2009. With little in the way of clues as a forward direction for mining stocks, investors may focus on the December quarter reporting season for big gold stocks, now cranking into gear.
All else being equal, which it has not been, gold companies were greatly assisted by the level of dollar gold bullion during 2009's fourth quarter, when the price ranged broadly between USD 1,000 and 1,200 an ounce, compared to the USD 700 to 850 range seen for the comparable period of 2008. During the first three quarters of 2009, gold prices were lower on average than for the comparable period in 2008.
Time for gold majors to own up
