Despite the prospect of a rate hike coming in the United States, the U.S. dollar weakened overnight causing the spot gold price to strengthen. At the time of writing the spot gold price is US$1,287 an ounce, up 3.7% from its October lows.
According to The Wall Street Journal the U.S. dollar has fallen on the back of U.S. election uncertainty. Since the Clinton email scandal reared its ugly head once again, Donald Trump has gained substantial ground in the polls just one week out from the election.
Market uncertainty is great news for Australia's gold miners as the precious metal is seen as a safe haven during periods of turmoil, driving its price higher.
It will come as no surprise to learn then that despite the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) dropping sharply today, the gold miners are jumping higher as the table below shows.
| Company | Change % |
| AngloGold Ashanti Limited (CHESS) (ASX: AGG) | 3.9% |
| Alacer Gold Corp – CDI (ASX: AQG) | 4.2% |
| EVOLUTION FPO (ASX: EVN) | 3.3% |
| Medusa Mining Limited (ASX: MML) | 1.9% |
| Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) | 1.1% |
| Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) | 2.5% |
| Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) | 5% |
| Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) | 5.2% |
| Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) | 5.1% |
| St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) | 2.9% |
But with the Federal Reserve expected to raise interest rates in December, I'm not entirely sure the gold price will be able to remain at these current levels for much longer.
If the gold price does plummet once rates rise, then the gold miners are likely to follow. For this reason I would suggest investors avoid the gold miners no matter how tempting the appeal.
