Niobium continues to attract attention with St George deal

The volatility that came into the US market in the previous week spilled into the rest the world at the start of last week, with sizeable falls seen all around. The media narrative said that this was due to fears of a recession in the US but if you think this through, it is not as realistic a view as the panic merchants were suggesting. There is plenty of scope for the Fed to cut interests rates if necessary. A more credible narrative would be that the markets have been consistently tracking higher in recent months without a sound basis for doing so. Thus it was time for a correction.

The All Ordinaries Index seems to have been following US sentiment rather than reflecting what is happening in our domestic economy, so it has been a case of following the leader without much strategic thought.

Looking beyond the economic indicators there is plenty of geopolitical news to give us concern if you consider how many regions are involved with conflict and war. Stability everywhere is fragile and that continues to make gold a priority holding, but there is surprisingly little interest in many gold equities. 

 WeeklyComm10August2024.pdf