Second quarter gold deliveries rise 28% but H1 tally lags 2023
HARARE – Small-scale miners managed to sustain recovery in the second quarter but deliveries to Fidelity Gold continued to lag last year’s performance. Gold production in the first six months of 2024 fell 2.8% year on year compared to the same time last year.
According to data released by Fidelity, the country produced 13 784.29 kilograms of gold between January and June 2024, down from 14 181.03 kg in the same period in 2023.
The second quarter saw a notable surge in gold output, with 7 739.42 kg produced, representing a substantial increase of 1 694.55kg, or 28%, compared to a low base of 6 044.87kg produced in the first quarter of the year.
Month on month, June deliveries were lower at 2 618.38kg, down 4.23% from 2 734.13kg. Recently, government removed the 15% VAT for deliveries effective in June. This is over and above the 5% tax paid by large scale miners and 1% by small scale miners. However, miners say that government should have made January 1, 2024 the effective date and not June.
For the six months, small scale miners delivered 5 798.45kg while large scale miners were not far off at 5 367.46kg. Small-scale miners reduced production to 1 618.51 kg in June compared to 1678.45kg in May. Primary producers’ production in June was 999.8705kg, down from 1055.6854kg in May.
Since the beginning of 2024, gold has gained more than 23% in value. In March, the spot price hit a record US$2 160 per ounce price. Not long after, gold’s price hit an all-time high at US$2 265 per ounce to kick off April. More recently, gold peaked at US$2 435 on May 20, a new milestone. Analysts and experts give mixed forecasts on the future price of gold. The asset has managed to touch new highs due to several fundamental factors.
Gold could potentially move higher due to world central banks buying gold at a faster pace, Asian investment flows, resilient consumer demand and current geopolitical tensions having no end in sight and election uncertainty which is making investors nervous. -finx
