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Gold Price Update: Q2 2021 in Review

What happened to gold in Q2 2021? Our gold price update outlines key market developments and explores what could happen moving forward.
The post Gold Price Update: Q2 2021 in Review appeared first on Investing News Network.

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Click here to read the previous gold price update.

2021 is now half over, and prospects look positive for gold. Elements such as global COVID-19 relief efforts, low interest rates and inflation concerns are all considered tailwinds. 

Despite those factors, the yellow metal enjoyed only a small rise during Q2, leaving many market watchers feeling disappointed and wondering why last summer’s all-time high now seems so far away.

Read on for a look at gold’s performance during the second quarter of 2021, with commentary from experts on its price drivers and future outlook.

 

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Gold price update: Price ends up for the quarter

The gold price breached the US$1,900 per ounce mark briefly during the second quarter, but ultimately ended the three month period not far from where it started.

Kicking off April at the US$1,730 level, the yellow metal climbed fairly steadily until the end of May before experiencing its quarterly peak of US$1,908.20 on June 2. It then fell steeply midway through the month before closing June just above US$1,760, placing its quarterly gain at about 1.9 percent.

gold's q2 2021 price performance

Gold’s Q2 2021 price performance. Chart via Kitco.

Although gold’s Q2 price movement has been underwhelming for some market participants, it compares favorably to Q1, when gold tumbled from around US$1,900 to under US$1,700.

Even so, the yellow metal remains more than US$200 away from the high point it hit around a year ago, and its failure to take off has surprised gold investors and commentators.

Marc Lichtenfeld, chief income strategist at the Oxford Club, summed up what many have been thinking, telling the Investing News Network (INN) in an interview, “It’s so hard to tell what is going on with gold.”

Watch the full interview with Lichtenfeld above.

As mentioned, COVID-19 relief efforts, low interest rates and inflation concerns have all been pointed to as positive gold price drivers. Although many parts of the world are beginning to recover from COVID-19, the pandemic created an unprecedented amount of global money printing, especially in the US.

Meanwhile, interest rates in the US remain near zero, with no indication that the Federal Reserve plans to increase them in the near future. At the same time, the central bank has dismissed inflation as “transitory” — although recently Chair Jerome Powell did concede that it is “well above target.”

A strong US dollar, which hampered the precious metal‘s performance in Q1, fell off during the second quarter, although it began to gain ground again midway through June. Higher US 10 year Treasury yields also negatively impacted gold in the first quarter of the year, but they remained at fairly elevated levels throughout Q2 as well, perhaps providing some pushback on gold.

Lichtenfeld continued, “If you look back, let’s say 10 years ago, and told a gold investor that over the next 10 years the US government and governments around the world are going to be running their printing presses non-stop, and that oh, by the way, 10 years from now there’s going to be a global pandemic that’s going to kill millions and completely shut down the global economy, and the US government will be literally handing out trillions of dollars for free — you’d probably back up the truck and buy as much gold as possible, because gold should be at record highs and yet it’s not.”

 

Uranium Soared Last Year While Other Resources Tumbled

 
What's In Store For Uranium This Year? Find Out In Our Exclusive FREE 2021 Uranium Outlook Report featuring trends, forecasts, expert interviews and more!
 

Gold price update: Stocks still relatively cheap

With the gold price below expectations, how are gold-focused companies doing?

The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (ARCA:GDX) aims to track the performance of gold-mining companies, and although it was on the rise in Q2 it ultimately dropped toward the end of the quarter.

gdx's h1 2021 performance

Performance of the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF, January 1, 2021 to July 19, 2021. Chart via Google Finance.

The consensus among market watchers seems to be that gold stocks are still inexpensive when compared to the yellow metal’s price. Speaking to INN in early June, Resource Maven’s Gwen Preston described gold companies as “historically cheap relative to the price of gold,” and said that as a result she sees significant future upside in this category.

“There’s multiples ahead for gold miners just to catch up to historic ratios for their valuations vs. the price of gold, let alone should the price of gold continue to rise,” she explained in an interview. “So there’s a lot of upside ahead for gold miners, I really believe that.”

Watch the full interview with Preston above.

Lobo Tiggre, founder and CEO of IndependentSpeculator.com, is normally focused on smaller-cap opportunities in the gold space, but said at the end of June that he was feeling open to companies on the bigger side too. Like Preston, he described gold stocks as cheap when stacked up against the gold price.

“The opportunities are so broad based that I find myself uncharacteristically looking at the majors as well as the smaller companies … anything that I can see as having a compelling value proposition is of interest to me, and when the stocks are so relatively undervalued compared to the commodity they produce — even the majors can be doubles (or) triples,” he commented.

Watch the full interview with Tiggre above.

Looking more specifically at results this year from precious metals producers, analysts at Raymond James said in a mid-July update for investors that they expect margin compression from the companies they are watching in the second quarter compared to Q1.

As the team explains in its note, “(A)lthough gold and silver price averages were up slightly q/q (gold 0.9% and silver 1.7%), we expect a trend of higher unit costs in 2Q on lower q/q production levels related to scheduled maintenance, lower grade sequencing in the quarter, and some mine re-starts.”

The firm is calling for the second quarter to be the year’s weakest operating period for a number of producers — including Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX:AEM,NYSE:AEM), B2Gold (TSX:BTO,NYSEAMERICAN:BTG), Calibre Mining (TSX:CXB,OTCQX:CXBMF) and Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:GOLD) — but sees the companies it covers maintaining their annual output guidance.

 

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Gold price update: Will gold hit US$2,000 in 2021?

Looking forward into the second half of 2021, the question of when the gold price will rise higher is on many investors’ minds. The thought is especially relevant given gold’s breakout last summer.

Byron King, who writes Whiskey & Gunpowder at St. Paul Research, which is part of Agora Financial, told INN he thinks gold could repeat last summer’s price jump. “Last summer we saw gold over US$2,000 an ounce. I expect we’re going to see the same thing again this summer,” he said, noting that his view on the gold price is tied to his outlook for the US dollar, which isn’t favorable.

“When we look ahead, is the US government going to get its spending under control? I don’t think so. Is it going to get its fiscal act together? I don’t think so,” King commented. “Or is the Federal Reserve going to somehow say, ‘No more … Congress, stop spending so much money, we’re not going to print up the wherewithal for you to do it.’ Are you kidding me? No way.”

Watch the full interview with King above.

These ideas have been expressed by many others in the gold space, including industry veterans Ross Beaty and Rob McEwen. Beaty, who is chairman of Equinox Gold (TSX:EQX,NYSEAMERICAN:EQX) and recently stepped down from his longtime position as chairman of Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS,NASDAQ:PAAS), has said it’s difficult for him to think of a negative scenario for the metal.

“The forces that are driving gold are stronger than I’ve ever seen in my career, and I just don’t see those ending any time soon. We cannot increase interest rates to stem inflation because that’ll crater major markets. Even if we do though, that should be good for gold — even if major markets crater, gold should be a beneficiary,” he explained in a conversation with INN.

“If the US dollar weakens, gold should be a beneficiary. But even if the US dollar strengthens, I think gold will remain strong — I just think in this particular environment gold has a really, really good outlook.”

Watch the full interview with Beaty above.

For his part, McEwen, who is chairman and chief owner of McEwen Mining (TSX:MUX,NYSE:MUX), identified several factors that he thinks are holding gold back: the belief that inflation is under control, the idea that gold is an “old-school investment” and broad market strength. However, he has a clear idea of how the situation could change — he believes that once inflation is more widely recognized, that will be gold’s cue to move.

“During the last 12 months, the prices of many essential commodities have experienced large price jumps, and it won’t take very long for these increases to be reflected in the prices of finished goods, services, foods — and followed by demand for higher compensation by labor,” he said. “And that’s when that inflation will become evident — clearly evident — and gold will start performing,” said McEwen.

Watch the full interview with McEwen above.

Whether or not gold will have another hot summer remains to be seen, although as of late July the precious metal was breaking out of its late Q2 slump, sitting fairly securely around the US$1,800 level.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates! 

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.

 

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Riley Gaines Explains How Women’s Sports Are Rigged To Promote The Trans Agenda

Riley Gaines Explains How Women’s Sports Are Rigged To Promote The Trans Agenda

Is there a light forming when it comes to the long, dark and…

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Riley Gaines Explains How Women's Sports Are Rigged To Promote The Trans Agenda

Is there a light forming when it comes to the long, dark and bewildering tunnel of social justice cultism?  Global events have been so frenetic that many people might not remember, but only a couple years ago Big Tech companies and numerous governments were openly aligned in favor of mass censorship.  Not just to prevent the public from investigating the facts surrounding the pandemic farce, but to silence anyone questioning the validity of woke concepts like trans ideology. 

From 2020-2022 was the closest the west has come in a long time to a complete erasure of freedom of speech.  Even today there are still countries and Europe and places like Canada or Australia that are charging forward with draconian speech laws.  The phrase "radical speech" is starting to circulate within pro-censorship circles in reference to any platform where people are allowed to talk critically.  What is radical speech?  Basically, it's any discussion that runs contrary to the beliefs of the political left.

Open hatred of moderate or conservative ideals is perfectly acceptable, but don't ever shine a negative light on woke activism, or you might be a terrorist.

Riley Gaines has experienced this double standard first hand.  She was even assaulted and taken hostage at an event in 2023 at San Francisco State University when leftists protester tried to trap her in a room and demanded she "pay them to let her go."  Campus police allegedly witnessed the incident but charges were never filed and surveillance footage from the college was never released.  

It's probably the last thing a champion female swimmer ever expects, but her head-on collision with the trans movement and the institutional conspiracy to push it on the public forced her to become a counter-culture voice of reason rather than just an athlete.

For years the independent media argued that no matter how much we expose the insanity of men posing as women to compete and dominate women's sports, nothing will really change until the real female athletes speak up and fight back.  Riley Gaines and those like her represent that necessary rebellion and a desperately needed return to common sense and reason.

In a recent interview on the Joe Rogan Podcast, Gaines related some interesting information on the inner workings of the NCAA and the subversive schemes surrounding trans athletes.  Not only were women participants essentially strong-armed by colleges and officials into quietly going along with the program, there was also a concerted propaganda effort.  Competition ceremonies were rigged as vehicles for promoting trans athletes over everyone else. 

The bottom line?  The competitions didn't matter.  The real women and their achievements didn't matter.  The only thing that mattered to officials were the photo ops; dudes pretending to be chicks posing with awards for the gushing corporate media.  The agenda took precedence.

Lia Thomas, formerly known as William Thomas, was more than an activist invading female sports, he was also apparently a science project fostered and protected by the athletic establishment.  It's important to understand that the political left does not care about female athletes.  They do not care about women's sports.  They don't care about the integrity of the environments they co-opt.  Their only goal is to identify viable platforms with social impact and take control of them.  Women's sports are seen as a vehicle for public indoctrination, nothing more.

The reasons why they covet women's sports are varied, but a primary motive is the desire to assert the fallacy that men and women are "the same" psychologically as well as physically.  They want the deconstruction of biological sex and identity as nothing more than "social constructs" subject to personal preference.  If they can destroy what it means to be a man or a woman, they can destroy the very foundations of relationships, families and even procreation.  

For now it seems as though the trans agenda is hitting a wall with much of the public aware of it and less afraid to criticize it.  Social media companies might be able to silence some people, but they can't silence everyone.  However, there is still a significant threat as the movement continues to target children through the public education system and women's sports are not out of the woods yet.   

The ultimate solution is for women athletes around the world to organize and widely refuse to participate in any competitions in which biological men are allowed.  The only way to save women's sports is for women to be willing to end them, at least until institutions that put doctrine ahead of logic are made irrelevant.          

Tyler Durden Wed, 03/13/2024 - 17:20

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Mike Pompeo Doesn’t Rule Out Serving In 2nd Trump Administration

Mike Pompeo Doesn’t Rule Out Serving In 2nd Trump Administration

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Former Secretary…

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Mike Pompeo Doesn't Rule Out Serving In 2nd Trump Administration

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a new interview that he’s not ruling out accepting a White House position if former President Donald Trump is reelected in November.

“If I get a chance to serve and think that I can make a difference ... I’m almost certainly going to say yes to that opportunity to try and deliver on behalf of the American people,” he told Fox News, when asked during a interview if he would work for President Trump again.

I’m confident President Trump will be looking for people who will faithfully execute what it is he asked them to do,” Mr. Pompeo said during the interview, which aired on March 8. “I think as a president, you should always want that from everyone.”

Then-President Donald Trump (C), then- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L), and then-Vice President Mike Pence, take a question during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus at the White House in Washington on April 8, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

He said that as a former secretary of state, “I certainly wanted my team to do what I was asking them to do and was enormously frustrated when I found that I couldn’t get them to do that.”

Mr. Pompeo, a former U.S. representative from Kansas, served as Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018 before he was secretary of state from 2018 to 2021. After he left office, there was speculation that he could mount a Republican presidential bid in 2024, but announced that he wouldn’t be running.

President Trump hasn’t publicly commented about Mr. Pompeo’s remarks.

In 2023, amid speculation that he would make a run for the White House, Mr. Pompeo took a swipe at his former boss, telling Fox News at the time that “the Trump administration spent $6 trillion more than it took in, adding to the deficit.”

“That’s never the right direction for the country,” he said.

In a public appearance last year, Mr. Pompeo also appeared to take a shot at the 45th president by criticizing “celebrity leaders” when urging GOP voters to choose ahead of the 2024 election.

2024 Race

Mr. Pompeo’s interview comes as the former president was named the “presumptive nominee” by the Republican National Committee (RNC) last week after his last major Republican challenger, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, dropped out of the 2024 race after failing to secure enough delegates. President Trump won 14 out of 15 states on Super Tuesday, with only Vermont—which notably has an open primary—going for Ms. Haley, who served as President Trump’s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

On March 8, the RNC held a meeting in Houston during which committee members voted in favor of President Trump’s nomination.

“Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump on his huge primary victory!” the organization said in a statement last week. “I’d also like to congratulate Nikki Haley for running a hard-fought campaign and becoming the first woman to win a Republican presidential contest.”

Earlier this year, the former president criticized the idea of being named the presumptive nominee after reports suggested that the RNC would do so before the Super Tuesday contests and while Ms. Haley was still in the race.

Also on March 8, the RNC voted to name Trump-endorsed officials to head the organization. Michael Whatley, a North Carolina Republican, was elected the party’s new national chairman in a vote in Houston, and Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, was voted in as co-chair.

“The RNC is going to be the vanguard of a movement that will work tirelessly every single day to elect our nominee, Donald J. Trump, as the 47th President of the United States,” Mr. Whatley told RNC members in a speech after being elected, replacing former chair Ronna McDaniel. Ms. Trump is expected to focus largely on fundraising and media appearances.

President Trump hasn’t signaled whom he would appoint to various federal agencies if he’s reelected in November. He also hasn’t said who his pick for a running mate would be, but has offered several suggestions in recent interviews.

In various interviews, the former president has mentioned Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, among others.

Tyler Durden Wed, 03/13/2024 - 17:00

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RFK Jr. Reveals Vice President Contenders

RFK Jr. Reveals Vice President Contenders

Authored by Jeff Louderback via The Epoch Times,

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former…

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RFK Jr. Reveals Vice President Contenders

Authored by Jeff Louderback via The Epoch Times,

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura are among the potential running mates for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the New York Times reported on March 12.

Citing “two people familiar with the discussions,” the New York Times wrote that Mr. Kennedy “recently approached” Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Ventura about the vice president’s role, “and both have welcomed the overtures.”

Mr. Kennedy has talked to Mr. Rodgers “pretty continuously” over the last month, according to the story. The candidate has kept in touch with Mr. Ventura since the former governor introduced him at a February voter rally in Tucson, Arizona.

Stefanie Spear, who is the campaign press secretary, told The Epoch Times on March 12 that “Mr. Kennedy did share with the New York Times that he’s considering Aaron Rodgers and Jesse Ventura as running mates along with others on a short list.”

Ms. Spear added that Mr. Kennedy will name his running mate in the upcoming weeks.

Former Democrat presidential candidates Andrew Yang and Tulsi Gabbard declined the opportunity to join Mr. Kennedy’s ticket, according to the New York Times.

Mr. Kennedy has also reportedly talked to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) about becoming his running mate.

Last week, Mr. Kennedy endorsed Mr. Paul to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as the Senate Minority Leader after Mr. McConnell announced he would step down from the post at the end of the year.

CNN reported early on March 13 that Mr. Kennedy’s shortlist also includes motivational speaker Tony Robbins, Discovery Channel Host Mike Rowe, and civil rights attorney Tricia Lindsay. The Washington Post included the aforementioned names plus former Republican Massachusetts senator and U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, Scott Brown.

In April 2023, Mr. Kennedy entered the Democrat presidential primary to challenge President Joe Biden for the party’s 2024 nomination. Claiming that the Democrat National Committee was “rigging the primary” to stop candidates from opposing President Biden, Mr. Kennedy said last October that he would run as an independent.

This year, Mr. Kennedy’s campaign has shifted its focus to ballot access. He currently has qualified for the ballot as an independent in New Hampshire, Utah, and Nevada.

Mr. Kennedy also qualified for the ballot in Hawaii under the “We the People” party.

In January, Mr. Kennedy’s campaign said it had filed paperwork in six states to create a political party. The move was made to get his name on the ballots with fewer voter signatures than those states require for candidates not affiliated with a party.

The “We the People” party was established in five states: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, and North Carolina. The “Texas Independent Party” was also formed.

A statement by Mr. Kennedy’s campaign reported that filing for political party status in the six states reduced the number of signatures required for him to gain ballot access by about 330,000.

Ballot access guidelines have created a sense of urgency to name a running mate. More than 20 states require independent and third-party candidates to have a vice presidential pick before collecting and submitting signatures.

Like Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Ventura is an outspoken critic of COVID-19 vaccine mandates and safety.

Mr. Ventura, 72, gained acclaim in the 1970s and 1980s as a professional wrestler known as Jesse “the Body” Ventura. He appeared in movies and television shows before entering the Minnesota gubernatorial race as a Reform Party headliner. He was a longshot candidate but prevailed and served one term.

Former pro wrestler Jesse Ventura in Washington on Oct. 4, 2013. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

In an interview on a YouTube podcast last December, Mr. Ventura was asked if he would accept an offer to run on Mr. Kennedy’s ticket.

“I would give it serious consideration. I won’t tell you yes or no. It will depend on my personal life. Would I want to commit myself at 72 for one year of hell (campaigning) and then four years (in office)?” Mr. Ventura said with a grin.

Mr. Rodgers, who spent his entire career as a quarterback for the Green Bay Packers before joining the New York Jets last season, remains under contract with the Jets. He has not publicly commented about joining Mr. Kennedy’s ticket, but the four-time NFL MVP endorsed him earlier this year and has stumped for him on podcasts.

The 40-year-old Rodgers is still under contract with the Jets after tearing his Achilles tendon in the 2023 season opener and being sidelined the rest of the year. The Jets are owned by Woody Johnson, a prominent donor to former President Donald Trump who served as U.S. Ambassador to Britain under President Trump.

Since the COVID-19 vaccine was introduced, Mr. Rodgers has been outspoken about health issues that can result from taking the shot. He told podcaster Joe Rogan that he has lost friends and sponsorship deals because of his decision not to get vaccinated.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets talks to reporters after training camp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, N.J., on July 26, 2023. (Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Earlier this year, Mr. Rodgers challenged Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Dr. Anthony Fauci to a debate.

Mr. Rodgers referred to Mr. Kelce, who signed an endorsement deal with vaccine manufacturer Pfizer, as “Mr. Pfizer.”

Dr. Fauci served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022 and was chief medical adviser to the president from 2021 to 2022.

When Mr. Kennedy announces his running mate, it will mark another challenge met to help gain ballot access.

“In some states, the signature gathering window is not open. New York is one of those and is one of the most difficult with ballot access requirements,” Ms. Spear told The Epoch Times.

“We need our VP pick and our electors, and we have to gather 45,000 valid signatures. That means we will collect 72,000 since we have a 60 percent buffer in every state,” she added.

The window for gathering signatures in New York opens on April 16 and closes on May 28, Ms. Spear noted.

“Mississippi, North Carolina, and Oklahoma are the next three states we will most likely check off our list,” Ms. Spear added. “We are confident that Mr. Kennedy will be on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. We have a strategist, petitioners, attorneys, and the overall momentum of the campaign.”

Tyler Durden Wed, 03/13/2024 - 15:45

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