Johannesburg - Shares of gold producers fall more than two percent as the spot gold price remains trapped in a tight range and the South African mining industry fights negative sentiment after strikes over wages eat into September quarter earnings.
The JSE's Gold index is 2.5 percent lower while AngloGold Ashanti is the sector's worst performer, dropping 3.4 percent to 125.93 rand.
“The gold stocks have not been shooting the lights out in the last few weeks and some of the major counters down are really down in the dumps,” says Barend Saayman, a portfolio manager at PSG Consult.
He says pressure on gold stocks is a trend seen in the last week, with the spot gold price lingering around the $1,300 a troy ounce mark on the US government shutdown, which is now in its second week. - Reuters