Gold futures fall, though they remain in a relatively tight range. Futures are down 0.4% at $3,329.10 a troy ounce, having fallen as low as $3,404.40/oz earlier in the session, though they sit up 0.6% on week.
Source – The Wall Street Journal
As the threat of a trade war grows, Canadian investors are seeking protection in gold and in shares of companies producing goods with few substitutes, such as uranium, while looking to take advantage of a weaker loonie and expected volatility.
“Tariffs are going to hurt all parties quite a bit but if you’re going to spare some industries, you probably spare industries that you don’t have a substitute for and are currently reliant on,” said Ben Jang, a portfolio manager at Nicola Wealth, noting U.S. dependence on Canadian oil, critical minerals and uranium.
Major producers of uranium include TSX-listed Cameco Corp (CCO.TO)shares of which Nicola Wealth owns. Cameco has pulled back from an all-time high in December but has still managed to advance roughly 46% since early September.
Source – Reuters
Japan’s Mitsubishi Materials is considering scaling back copper concentrate processing at its Onahama Smelter & Refinery as falling treatment and processing charges (TC/RCs) weigh on earnings, it said on Monday.
Mitsubishi Materials said the worsening TC/RCs from miners were expected to further erode smelting margins.
“To maintain and improve profitability, we need to raise the ratio of recycled raw materials and accelerate the shift to feedstock less vulnerable to TC/RC fluctuations,” the company said in a statement.
It is now considering the possibility of a partial shutdown of production facilities and a reduction in copper concentrate processing at Onahama, after planned maintenance from October to November this year, Mitsubishi Materials said.
Source – Reuters
The company’s stock has shown impressive momentum, delivering a 42% return over the past year according to InvestingPro data.
InvestingPro analysis indicates the stock is currently undervalued, with analyst price targets ranging from $3.25 to $3.77, suggesting significant upside potential.
Source – Investing.com
SPDR Gold Shares
It’s been having a good run: from the early June 2024 low of $212 to the present $264 amounts to a 19.7% return from then to now.
ASA Gold and Precious Metals
The South African-founded miner is now domiciled in Bermuda and has a market cap of $477 million. The price-earnings ratio is 7.61 and the stock trades at 1.12 times its book value. ASA in November 2024 paid a .16% dividend.
Franco Nevada
Headquartered in Toronto, the company has a market cap of $27 billion. This year’s earnings are down by 13.15%. Franco Nevada has no debt, long-term or otherwise.
Kinross Gold
This Canadian miner has a market cap of $14.51 billion. Earnings this year are up by 71%. The price-earnings ratio is 19.74. The debt-to-equity ratio is .26. Kinross Gold pays a dividend of 1.02%.
Discovery Silver
This is an OTC stock (also trades on The Toronto Stock Exchange) with an average daily volume of 237,000 shares. Market cap is $433 million. According to the company website, Discovery has “high quality gold producing assets in Canada” and “the world’s largest undeveloped silver deposit in Mexico.”
Source – Forbes
On Wednesday, TD Securities shifted its stance on ERO Copper Corp (ERO:CN) (OTC: ERRPF), raising the stock rating from Hold to Buy, while adjusting the price target to Cdn$23.00, down from the previous Cdn$26.00. The upgrade reflects a change in sentiment based on the company’s current share price and its future growth prospects.
The analysts at TD Securities anticipate a significant turnaround in free cash flow (FCF) starting in the second quarter of 2025. They project a 95% year-over-year improvement in copper production for the current year, with expectations for continued growth into 2026.
Source – Investing.com
Gold prices rose on Thursday, supported by a pullback in the dollar and the prospect of U.S. interest rate cuts later in the year, while investors awaited more details on U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policy.
Spot gold was up 0.5% to $3,328.23 per ounce by 0916 GMT. U.S. gold futures gained 0.5% to $3,336.90.
“The passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill, unsettling trade (policies) and rate-cut expectations should be ‘dollar negative’ kind of events… gold should be favoured in that environment,” said WisdomTree commodities strategist Nitesh Shah
Spot silver rose 0.7% to $36.59 per ounce, platinum gained 0.9% to $1,359.65, and palladium climbed 1.2% to $1,117.93.
Source – Reuters
