Gold futures remained firmly in positive territory in late morning trading on Friday, with the COMEX February 2012 contract higher by $18.00, or 1.1%, at $1,595.20 per ounce. However, the yellow metal’s rebound this morning pales in comparison to the sell-off it has endured this week.
With gold futures now 17% below their all-time high, the chorus of investors and market pundits declaring the bull market in gold over has climbed substantially in recent weeks. The latest to make this claim was Michael Murphy, CEO of Rosecliff Capital, in a CNBC interview.
“Gold was a safe haven, a hedge and a speculative trade all at the same time,” Murphy stated. “Long gold has been a winning trade for years. We expect the selloff in gold to gain momentum into 2012. Traders are finding better hedges, better safe havens, and better speculative commodity plays than long gold.”
Stephen Weiss of Short Hills Capital, and a CNBC contributor, echoed Murphy’s bearish stance on gold. “When an asset is thought to work in any market, that is the surest sign of a bubble,” Weiss contended. “I believe we will hear about massive central bank selling to put currency in markets.”
A recap of their discussion also included a comment from Peter Schiff, who not surprisingly disagreed with Murphy and Weiss. Schiff, a long-time gold bull and head of Euro Pacific Capital, argued that “Bull markets climb a wall of worry. These sharp drops shake out the speculators and keep other would-be buyers on the sidelines. Once the weak longs are cleared out, the trip to $2,000 and beyond will resume unencumbered by excess baggage.”
Klondex Set to Advance Fire Creek Development
* Fire Creek is strategically located between the past producing Mule Canyon Mine to the north and the world-class Pipeline and Cortez gold deposits to the south.
* The property is readily accessible via Federal and state roads, is close to the electrical power grid, and is within 50 miles driving distance of two large mills.
* Klondex recently announced that its active 2011 surface drilling program continues to find new gold veins and to expand the scope of the resource at its Fire Creek.
