Guarded comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen yesterday helped gold prices to log in gains until the pre-market session this morning. Gold Futures for August delivery were trading 0.35% lower at $1,237 still hovering near two-week highs.
Temporary weakness
Yellen offered an optimistic assessment of U.S. economic direction during her speech at Philadelphia but sounded dovish as far as a June rate hike was concerned. Her tone helped bullion to post gains overnight. However, prices traded lower later in the day. Daniel Hynes, an analyst at ANZ, believes that such cautiousness is temporary, and investors will return to more opportunities in gold. He added that key economic events ahead in the week would also be critical to guide traders in taking their positions. According to reports, SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:GLD) holdings were mostly steady, falling 0.03% to 881.15 tons on Monday.
Goldcorp declares dividend
Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE:GG) declared a quarterly dividend for the period ending on June 30, 2016. Goldcorp will pay dividend of only $0.02 per share to its stakeholders, indicating continued conservatism and capital conservation in the gold mining sector. The dividend payment date is scheduled for June 24.
Meanwhile, a Bloomberg report revealed that Gold Fields Limited (ADR) (NYSE:GFI) is initiating plans to acquire the Iduapriem mine from AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU), located in Ghana. The plans are part of GoldField’s objective to up its output from West Africa to 1 million ounces. Alongside this, the company is also exploring opportunities to expand in Mali, Senegal, and Burkina Faso.
Alfred Baku, Gold Field’s vice president for West Africa, said that Iduapriem mine is an appealing investment for them due to its geographical positioning and proximity to the company’s existing Tarkwa mine. Production at Iduapriem is near 46,000 ounces, lower than the 140,000 ounces produced at Tarkwa mine. If GoldField succeeds in acquiring Iduapriem, then it could help increase output while lowering costs.