Gold declarations continue to slump and to date are 19 per cent lower than they were for the corresponding period last year.
The slide in declarations began since earlier this year and overall production for the year is likely to be lower than last year as miners withdraw from the sector or scale down production for a variety of reasons, including a drop in gold prices. Gold is priced in the US dollar and tends to fall when the US currency strengthens, and a rally in the dollar index earlier this month knocked gold to a 4½ year low at US$1,131. However, Reuters reported on Friday that gold climbed back above $1,200 an ounce on Friday after a surprise rate cut by China fuelled expectations that demand could rise in the world’s biggest gold consumer.
For the past few years, gold has been a mainstay of Guyana’s economy but this year, miners, confronted with a variety of factors, have exited the sector. Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh has revised projected end-of-year gold declarations downwards to 450,000 ounces. The gold industry achieved total declarations of 481,087 ounces last year, representing the highest level of production in the history of the industry. Yesterday, an official told
