12 October
Mining companies in Australia have decided not to use Manila-based ship crew members after the Government of Western Australia (WA) confirmed an outbreak of Covid-19 on board the Vega Dream carrier. The iron ore bulk carrier, which is the second ship that reached northern WA with positive cases on board recently, is now anchored off the Port Hedland coast. It departed the port completely laden with iron ore, the Brisbane Times reported.
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The Jubilee Debt Campaign (JDC) has urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to sell some of its stockpile of gold to help poorer countries cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. The partial sale of gold will also help to cover the debt payments owed by these countries for the next 15 months. The IMF holds 90.5m ounces of gold, which is worth about $175bn at current prices. JDC director Sarah-Jayne Clifton was quoted by The Guardian as saying that there is inequality in the resources that are currently available to countries to help them weather the Covid-19 crisis.
X-trade Brokers research head Przemysław Kwiecien told Personal Wealth that the gold miner stocks’ performance is linked to prices of physical gold. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the gold prices have been outperforming. According to Kwiecień, due to low interest rates globally, the metal has been one of the winners of the pandemic. Prices of gold are unlikely to decline in the near term, At present, their stocks are overvalued.
