Prices for gold, industrial metals, and other metals saw an increase as revealed in the Philequity’s investor briefing last February 9 at the Meralco Theater.
Gold almost met the higher end of its five-year price range, having a trade value of $ 1,346 per ounce. Prices for the said metal are up four percent year-to-date and 12.6 percent from lows registered in 2018.
Silver, on the other hand, had a 14.3 percent increase from the lows recorded for 2018. It now trades at $ 16.01 per ounce.
Meanwhile, palladium overpowered other precious metals, touching 1.500 per ounce which is a record high for the rare metal until it pulled back to $ 1,462.2. This meant a 15.9 percent year-to-date and 73.2 percent from 2018 low.
The surge in palladium prices is attributed to its scarcity due to the increasing demand from the automobile sector which currently sees a switch from diesel engines towards hybrid electric vehicles.
Almost identical situation can be seen with nickel and copper where low inventories and strong demands drive prices upwards. A year-to-date of 20 percent for nickel and 12 percent for copper was recorded.
Prices for nickel already increased to 21.8 percent from its 2018 lows while copper prices shot up to 15.2 percent from last year’s low.
During the said investor briefing, it was stressed that the mining sector in the Philippines remains a vital part of the economic growth of the country especially now that it can supplement for the economy’s primary sources of dollars – BPO revenues and OFW remittances – which is slowing.
Reserves of gold, copper, nickel, aluminum, and chromite in the Philippines is worth $ 1 trillion making the country one of the most mineral-rich countries in the world.
