Gold (for February 2024 delivery) was trading at $2087 an ounce on New York Comex today, December 1.
That easily beats the old record high of $2051.50 an ounce back in August 2020. The shiny metal is up 12% from $1830 an ounce in early October. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD), which holds gold, is up 2.53% in the last month as of November 30.
History, and the price action on the Gold Shares ETF, tells us that at this point in a strong gold rally, it doesn’t pay to chase gold itself, but it does pay to buy shares of gold miners. Those companies and their stocks are highly leveraged to the price of gold. (Their costs are largely fixed so any increase in the price of gold has a huge impact on the bottom line.)
Want some proof? Remember that the gold-holding Gold Shares ETF is up 2.53% in the last month.
Shares of gold miner Barrick Gold (GOLD) are up 10.70% in the last month. Shares of Newmont (NEM) are up 8.33% in the last month. The Van Eck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) is up 11.82% in the last month.
I own all three in my 12-18 month Jubak Picks Portfolio. I’d buy all three now. If I had to buy just one for the next 6 months, I’d pick Newmont and its 3.98% dividend. (Barrick pays 2.27%.) For the longer term, I like Barrick more because of its big bet on expanding copper production.
In my Jubak Picks Portfolio, Barrick is up 13.65% since my June 21, 2019 buy. The Gold Miners ETF is up 9.86% from my August 14, 2019 buy. Newmont is down 13.82% from my April 20, 2023 buy.
