
AXMIN Inc (TSXV: AXM)
AXMIN Inc. (TSXV:AXM) is a Canadian-based exploration and development company with a strong focus on central and West Africa.
As uncertainty surrounding the U.S. presidential election and geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East remains high, gold price hit another record high on Wednesday, breaking above $2,800 per ounce. December gold futures contract on CME briefly touched $2,801.70 per ounce in overnight trade, refreshing the all-time high just set a day ago.
Year-to-date, gold’s cumulative gain reached about 34 per cent, becoming one of the best-performing assets in 2024. Suki Cooper, an analyst at Standard Chartered Plc, said on Wednesday that investors flocked to buy safe-haven assets ahead of the election, and also pushed up the price of the precious metal in anticipation of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Gold’s long enthusiasm this week confirms that the market’s focus remains on the U.S. election, particularly the prospect of Trump’s return to the White House, which could bring greater policy disruption, trade tariffs and increased geopolitical risk, Saxo Bank said in a report to clients. This is coupled with the fact that the market sees almost a 100 per cent chance of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 basis points in November.
Max Layton, head of global commodities research at Citi, sees gold prices reaching $3,000 an ounce over the next 6-12 months, a store of wealth during a period of high economic uncertainty in the U.S. and Europe, while pushing up ETF and investment demand. The bank expects exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings to rise 7 per cent next year.
The World Gold Council’s latest report on gold demand trends for the third quarter states that total demand for gold, including OTC investments, rose to 1,313 tonnes, a record high for the third quarter and a 5% increase on the same period last year. The gold market was boosted in the first half of the year by record central bank demand and unprecedented commercial demand from Asia, particularly China.
Physical demand for gold bars and coins, as well as jewellery consumption, struggled in the third quarter as prices rose by an average of 28%; however, investment demand in the West made up for it, the report said. In addition, total investment demand increased by 364.1 tonnes in the third quarter, a significant 132% increase over the same period in 2023.
The World Gold Council noted that gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are the biggest beneficiaries of the Federal Reserve’s new easing cycle. The report highlighted that the gold market saw its first net gain in the third quarter after nine consecutive months of outflows. Gold holdings in the ETF market increased by a total of 94.6 tonnes in the third quarter.
Joseph Cavatoni, chief market strategist at WGC North America, said the Fed’s easing cycle has been a complete game changer for the gold market. In addition to demand from traceable ETFs, investment demand from the over-the-counter (OTC) market continues to dominate market demand, which increased by 137 tonnes in the third quarter, almost double the amount in the same period last year, contributing to record high prices.
On technical patterns, prices are currently approaching the inverted head and shoulders target, with a potential price range between $2,800 and $3,050.