Meera Shawn

Silver has been falling over the past few years, despite surging demand for its industrial use. Fundamentally, silver seems to be strong due to rising demand and a year-over-year shortfall in its supply.

Polyus Gold International is the largest gold producer in Russia. It ranks among the top ten gold miners. It produced 1,696,000 ounces of gold in 2014.

When the Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen, testified to Congress on February 11, she affirmed the Fed’s consideration of negative interest rates. Under a negative interest rate scenario, investors would pay interest to the bank for holding their money.

Fears in the overall financial market about a Brexit, the possible exit of Britain from the European Union, have abated. This helped gold fall.

Gold prices plummeted on Wednesday, January 25, 2017, and gave the lowest close in recent weeks.

Gold and interest rates have a close inverse relationship. The higher the rate for Treasuries, the lower the demand for non-yield-bearing assets such as gold and silver.

As the US dollar lost some ground on February 20, 2017, its weakening gave a push to gold prices. Gold rose ~0.2% over its previous trading day’s close.

Looking at volatility for precious metals, we see that volatility in gold decreased as gold slipped for yet another day on Wednesday, July 27, 2016.

Gold futures for August expiration fell 0.2% to settle at $1,270 an ounce after touching $1,263.8 on Wednesday, June 22.

India and China, the two largest consumers of gold, make up about 50% of gold’s global demand. Gold is treated more as a commodity in these two countries.

The VanEck Vectors Junior Gold Miners (GDXJ) and the iShares MSCI Global Gold Min (RING) witnessed a fall in their price on Friday.

Mining stocks tend to move in accordance with gold prices.

On May 31, 2017, the implied volatilities of Royal Gold, Goldcorp, Agnico Eagle Mines, and Primero Mining stood at 26.5%, 30.7%, 32.1%, and 90.6%.

Goldcorp (GG), Yamana Gold (AUY), and Hecla Mining (HL) have fallen 4.1%, 15.7%, and 1.1% year-to-date, respectively. However, Gold Fields (GFI) has risen 14.6% year-to-date.

In order to analyze the performance of the precious metals market, it’s important to look at the core mining stocks and their technical details.

The US dollar rose 0.32% on January 3, which led to a lower price for spot gold and silver. During the last month, the US dollar (UUP) has fallen 0.78%, and gold has risen 2.9%.

Most mining companies are trading below their 100-day moving averages. A few months ago, they were trading at discounts compared to their significant premiums.

Precious metals mining shares that have high correlations with gold include Royal Gold, GoldCorp, New Gold, and Newmont Mining.

As precious metals have steadily fallen for the past few weeks, investors have been trying to read the increase in Treasury yields during the same period.

For mining companies, 2016 brought a ray of hope. Gold had the best quarterly performance in 30 years and silver climbed to its 11-month high.

Gold touched a one-month low on Thursday, September 28, due to the rise of the US dollar over the speculation of another rate hike in December 2017.

Palladium has seen six out of seven down trading days as of January 12. The recent stock market slump in China, which caused global tumult, hurt palladium.

Gold and silver have seen trailing-five-day losses of 0.9% and 2.7%, respectively. The reason behind the fall in the precious metals is the buoyancy of the equity markets and the gains in the US dollar.

Even though precious metals miners have seen a remarkable rally in their prices, many fund managers have begun unloading their holdings in gold equities.

India and China are close competitors for the title of number-one gold buyer. Together, the countries make up about 50% of the total global demand for gold.

SLW and ABX saw YTD (year-to-date) losses of 2.8% and 0.83%, respectively, while GG has a YTD gain of 12%.

Economic data from the United States on Tuesday, July 21, 2016, on home starts and building permits affected gold and other precious metals to a certain extent.

Among these miners in our analysis, Primero Mining has the highest correlation with gold, and First Majestic Silver has the lowest correlation.

Mining stocks are often known to amplify the returns in precious metals. Small losses for metals can bring exponential losses to metal miners, and vice versa.

Compared to the substantial gains in precious metals on Tuesday, the gains yesterday were muted. How come?

Investments in the precious metals sector—including mining—substantially depend on the rate hike conundrum.

After the revival on Friday, June 29, Monday was another choppy day. Let’s look at the technicals for four miners.

The RSI levels of our four mining giants above have risen recently due to higher stock prices.

Mining stocks react Precious metals saw a sudden upswing in their prices due to geopolitical unrest in Syria and North Korea. Consequently, precious metal mining stocks and funds rose. Meanwhile, investors remain concerned about the potential impact of any further interest rate hikes that the Fed may pursue. On a YTD (year-to-date) basis, Sibanye Gold (SBGL), […]

After surging to multimonth highs, gold slowly retreated to its original level. Gold fell from its overnight high, and equity markets rebounded from their fall.

Gold continues to trade at its five-year low. It’s hovering in the range of $1,100–$1,150 per ounce. Gold futures on COMEX lost 5.90% on a YTD basis.

Precious metals often run in the opposite direction of stocks. Whenever the risk appetite of investors is high, stocks tend to perform well.

Gold futures for December expiration fell 0.53% on September 9, 2016. Gold, however, was able to maintain a trailing-five-day gain of 0.46%.

Most mining stocks have risen over the past month due to a substantial rebound in the prices of precious metals.

The US dollar rose sharply on November 4. Precious metals have overall seen a volatile past month, but on November 4, palladium dropped the most by 12.10%.

AGI, SLW, ABX, and KGC currently have RSI levels of 50.3, 74.3, 44.4, and 50, respectively.

As global tumult grips markets—and as investors turn to mining stocks as safe havens—it’s crucial to understand which stocks are closely tied to precious metals.

Besides geopolitical issues, the US dollar has also been playing an important role in the determination of the price movement for precious metals.

After the $5 billion stock market collapse in China, investors fled to gold. Even a third straight annual decline in prices has failed to make gold lusterless in China.

Mining companies saw massive YTD rises in 2016 despite their poor performances in the last quarter. GDX saw a YTD rise of 21.4%.

Precious metals mining companies suffered in 2015 due to falling precious metals prices. In 2015, precious metals took many of their movement cues from the Fed’s meetings.

India and China remain the top two consumers of gold (IAU) and silver (SLV).

Precious metals saw an upward swing on Tuesday, November 1, 2016. The rise in precious metals was most likely due to the slight fall of the US dollar.

Wheaton is above its 100-day moving average, while Coeur Mining and Eldorado are below their longer-term 100-day moving averages.

Precious metals saw a down day on Monday, September 18. Gold, silver, and platinum fell 1.1%, 3.1%, and 1.1%, respectively, on the day.

In the past few weeks, fluctuations in precious metals and precious metals–based funds have been influenced by changes in the US dollar.

Mining stocks with a higher correlation to precious metals will likely be impacted more by global indicators that influence precious metals.

The rise in precious metals over the last few months has been due to insecurity among investors, given the political climate.

As the Federal Reserve released minutes from its December meeting, gold prices jumped higher.

The precious metals saw two straight days of gains on Monday and Tuesday. Gold futures for December expiration rose 0.76% on Tuesday and closed at $1,356.90 per ounce.

Janet Yellen, chair of the Federal Reserve, noted that the Fed is planning to change the annual stress tests it gives to US banks. The test results would reveal whether the banks can withstand a massive financial crisis.

Gold remained in the neutral range of $1,313–$1,319 per ounce as Bank of Japan gave its verdict, keeping the benchmark interest rate unchanged at -0.1%.

Besides the attack on Syria, the latest rise in gold was also backed by dampened expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates soon.

Bitcoin prices increased a marginal 3% during the last 24 hours, trading at $1,0841 as of 3:00 AM EST on February 28, 2018.

New York-based beverage maker Long Island Iced Tea (LTEA) said on Thursday that it’s shifting its primary corporate focus towards the exploration of investment blockchain technology though it will still make iced tea and other juice beverages.

Gold was trading moderately high on Wednesday, October 25, 2017. It rose a marginal 0.04% and closed at $1,276.30 per ounce. Silver and palladium, however, had a down day.

The New Home Sales figure stood at 592,000, higher than the expectation of 575,000. The higher sales were likely due to the better forecast for the economy.

The United Kingdom’s Brexit vote in June 2016 had a significant impact on mining companies and precious metals. Gold and silver rose to two-year highs due to safe-haven bids.

Gold prices once again retreated on Friday, November 25, by $10.3 to close at $1,179 an ounce—the lowest level that gold has seen since February.

Randgold Resources, AngloGold Ashanti, Hecla Mining, and IAMGOLD have risen 30.7%, 17.9%, 13%, and 31.4% YTD, respectively.

The Fed kept interest rates unchanged at its July 27, 2016, meeting. Precious metals took guidance from it and most likely began looking forward to the Bank of Japan’s meeting.

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise the interest rate in its March 2018 meeting for what would be the sixth time since late 2015.

Investors were somewhat pessimistic about gold during the last quarter of 2016. Most of the fluctuations were due to the news of the interest rate hike.

Barrick Gold (ABX), Goldcorp (GG), Newmont Mining (NEM), and Gold Fields (GFI) have declined 5.2%, 5.4%, 6.2%, and 2.8%, respectively.

Investors are cautious about investing in gold after the sudden surge over the past three months. The Market sentiment in gold seems to be far from bearish.

The strong economic numbers from the US during 1Q17 have been casting a shadow over precious metals.

On Wednesday, February 24, 2016, palladium fell a whopping 2.6%, closing at $487.60 per ounce. Gold, silver, and platinum had up days, rising 1.1%, 0.37%, and 0.02%, respectively.

As gold rose initially, the revival in the equity markets shadowed the precious metal. Silver maintained its gains. It’s used as an industrial metal.

As global tumult grips markets and investors turn to mining stocks as safe havens, it’s crucial to understand which stocks are closely tied to precious metals.

Despite the losses on February 26, the precious metals maintained substantial gains for February. Gold had the best month in almost four years.

Gold prices dropped from its seven-week high level of $1,276.10 per ounce on August 1. Gold futures for September expiration fell 0.08% on August 2 and ended at $1,274.20 per ounce.

A rate hike and the dollar are closely tied to each other since a higher interest rate would mean more money flowing into the United States.

As of April 18, 2017, gold and silver have risen 12% and 14.8%, respectively, year-to-date.

On July 13, 2017, Franco Nevada, Randgold Resources, Yamana Gold, and Cia De Minas had implied volatilities of 28%, 28.4%, 55.4%, and 38.6%, respectively.

The price changes in precious metals—gold, silver, platinum, and palladium—can be studied by using cross-commodity spreads. These spreads utilize gold as the primary metal, connecting its price to silver, platinum, and palladium.

The iShares Silver Trust and the iShares Gold Trust have gained 2.9% and 0.91%, respectively, in the past five days, likely due to the precious metal rebound.

Eldorado Gold (EGO) is Canada’s second-largest gold mining company, whose price is trading at $2.22 per share as of January 28, 2016.

Precious metals are taking the lead. The gold for August delivery was the most actively traded contract on July 20. It fell 2.20% and closed at $1,106.80 per ounce.

Among the 24 commodities listed on the S&P GSCI (Goldman Sachs Commodity Index), gold has been the best performer. It topped the chart among commodities.

For the first time in history, the price of ripple has surpassed $1.

First Majestic, New Gold, Agnico, and Silver Wheaton now have RSI scores of 60.5, 56.2, 57.6, 59.6, respectively.

Bitcoin prices touched a three-week high of $17,712.40 on January 6, 2018, and then fell. As of Monday, January 8, 2018, at 5:00 AM EST, it had a 24-hour fall of 5.4%.

Newcrest Mining is based in Australia. It’s engaged in the exploration, mining, and sale of gold and copper. It produced about 2,396,000 ounces of gold in 2014.

On Thursday, December 21, bitcoin (GBTC) (ARKW) was trading almost 6% lower than the previous day.

Over the past three years, Yamana has seen a rising correlation with gold, while AngloGold has seen a falling correlation to gold.

COMEX non-commercial gold futures contracts, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled 292,000 in the data reported through September 27, 2016.

Recent global unrest and the equity market slump have weighed on silver while the haven appeal that has lifted up gold has also helped silver.

The RSI levels of our four select mining giants have all increased lately due to their higher stock prices.

Mining companies like First Majestic Silver (AG), Silver Wheaton (SLW), Pan American Silver (PASS), Coeur Mining (CDE), and Hecla Mining (HL) are primarily into silver exploration.

Between December 18 and December 22, Longfin and Riot Blockchain fell 76% and 49%, respectively.

The top cryptocurrencies once again witnessed a down trading day. Bitcoin has dropped about 6.4% over the past 24 hours.

Some investors seem to prefer putting their money in gold lately. The World Gold Council is optimistic on gold due to negative interest rate policies of major economies.

It’s expected that precious metal mining stocks will follow precious metals. So it’s crucial to know which stocks are closely associated with precious metals.

Large money managers and speculators were bearish on gold in 2015. Gold declined for three consecutive years. However, 2016 started with a bang.

As automobile catalysts comprise ~44% of the demand for platinum, the Volkswagen scandal curbed the demand for diesel-fueled cars that use platinum as a catalyst. This pulled down the already depressed platinum and comparatively strengthened palladium.