August Gold News 2018

• The current stock market bear run has lasted longer than the infamous Dot Com bubble (1995 - 2001)
• Gold prices are shorting like they did as the Dot Com bubble wound down
• Investors are desensitised from reacting to geopolitical strife due to Trump’s behaviour
• Gold reaches 2-week high thanks to the weaker US Dollar

A lightning bolt-shaped gold nugget discovered in Australia sold for an astounding $162,500 at an auction in America this weekend.

(Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions)

South African firm Impala Platinum (Implats) has said it will have to cut 13,400 jobs in a major shake-up as the company seeks to counter the losses suffered from a drop in platinum prices and the rise in production costs, with vocal opposition coming from the Miner's Union and the Minister for Mineral Resources.

(Photo courtesy of Impala Platinum)

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey has accused the United States – particularly US President Donald Trump – of an “attempted economic coup” after America imposed economic sanctions against the Middle East nation.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have reported that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose for the first time since November, climbing to 2.5% in July having sat at 2.4% for the previous three months.

The value of the Turkish Lira plunged on Friday, losing 23% of its value in a day. The currency sits precariously at 6.93 Lira per Dollar or 1 Lira for every 14 Cents. Strains on the economy, including trade tariff pressure from President Trump, has severely hampered the Turkish currency, with members of the public rapidly turning to investment safe havens such as gold.

An anonymous British amateur gold prospector has found what is believed to be Britain’s largest ever gold nugget. Nicknamed the ‘Douglas Nugget’, the gold has been valued at a staggering £50,000 – with experts reckoning it could fetch even more due to its rarity.

Today, Wednesday 8th August, the exchange rate has dropped from €1.13308 to €1.12714. Confidence fell after the Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox, told the Sunday Times that there was a 60% chance of a no-deal Brexit. 

For the first time in almost a decade the Bank of England has raised interest rates from their financial crisis lows. 

Many commentators have been suggesting recently that gold has reached its bottom with prices more or less set about the $1200 an ounce level.  However, Jim Cramer of CNBC’s Mad Money, has said that gold could be in for a ‘monster rally’.