GOLD BULLION fell back through $3300 per ounce yet again on Wednesday, trading unchanged for the month of May but continuing to outpace global stock markets − as did the price of gold mining shares both in China and the USA − ahead of the latest earnings report from leading AI chipmaker Nvidia.

 

Like New York's broader S&P500 index, shares in Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) slipped 0.2% as US trading began, extending the tech giant's weak 2025 to date.

 

But Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE: AEM) − now the Western world's largest gold mining business by stock market capitalisation − rose 0.4% while No.2 Newmont (NYSE: NEM) held flat and former No.1 Barrick (NYSE: B) also rose 0.4% higher after the Canada-based miner vowed to oppose the military government of Mali's attempt to seize legal control of its Loulo-Gounkoto project, one of the world’s largest gold deposits.

 

The miner this month rebranded from Barrick Gold to Barrick Mining, changing its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange from 'GOLD' to 'B' in a long-standing bid to downplay its precious metal production versus its growing operations in copper.

 

While NVDA has risen 14-fold over the past 5 years against gold's near-90% gain − itself twice the pace of the HUI mining stocks index − the AI chipmaker has now made only half the past 12 months' rise of 39.1% in gold bullion and 39.8% in the HUI index of North American listed gold mining stocks, and it has traded dead-flat so far in 2025 as both miners and the precious metal have risen sharply.

 

 

Chinese gold miner Shandong (SHA: 600547) − the world's 12th largest gold miner by market cap − also edged higher again Wednesday despite another drop in China's wider stock market after Bloomberg reported that it is set to raise another $100 million in US Dollar bonds after raising $300m in 3-year debt earlier this month.

 

With the broad CSI300 index of Chinese equities ending Wednesday dead-flat for 2025 to date, the share price of Shandong has now risen by 30.0% so far, outpacing the 18.5% gain in China and the world's No.1 listed gold miner, Zijin (SHA: 601899).

 

Shanghai gold has meanwhile risen 24.7% in Yuan terms so far this year, trading flat today from Tuesday's 1-week low of ¥768 per gram despite a rebound in the Shanghai gold premium relative to London bullion quotes.

 

Yesterday the Shanghai Futures Exchange launched a consultation on "internationalizing" 18 of its commodity derivatives contracts, including silver and gold futures, asking market participants for feedback on proposals such as allowing traders to post foreign currency as collateral.

 

Not yet posted to SHFE's English language site, the consultation follows early May's directive from the politburo in Beijing, calling on China's major financial institutions to help expand use of the Yuan in international finance and build on its growing use in global trade.

 

Comex gold futures for New York settlement in August − now the CME exchange's most active contract − today fell to $3325 per Troy ounce, down 1.8% for the week so far.

 

Gold in London's bullion market − currently the centre of physical trading worldwide − meantime slipped to $3294 per Troy ounce, also down 1.8% from last Friday's record weekly close.

 

Silver erased an earlier rally to trade 40 cents down at $33.00 per Troy ounce, while copper lost 3.7% from the weekend's 1-month highs.