The ASX's gold stocks were hammered on Thursday, after the gold price hit a three-week low.
Spot gold fell 1.1% to US$1,317.96 an ounce overnight, but had fallen as low as US$1,310.56 an ounce – the lowest price since June 28.
It's should come as no surprise then that gold stocks have been hammered – particularly with the outlook looking increasingly cloudy. These 10 stocks were smashed down today, and more falls could be on the way.
| Company | Fall |
| Kingsrose Mining Limited (ASX: KRM) | -10.0% |
| Doray Minerals Limited (ASX: DRM) | -9.2% |
| Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) | -9.0% |
| St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) | -8.9% |
| Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) | -7.9% |
| Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS) | -6.4% |
| Silver Lake Resources Limited. (ASX: SLR) | -6.4% |
| Teranga Gold Corp (CDI) (ASX: TGZ) | -6.3% |
| AngloGold Ashanti Limited (CHESS) (ASX: AGG) | -6.3% |
| Troy Resources Ltd (ASX: TRY) | -6.3% |
| Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) | -6.1% |
Source: Google Finance
The problem is that equity markets are soaring, which is not a good sign for gold. Investors are piling into stocks and out of low-yielding or no return assets like bonds and gold.
Some market commentators are forecasting a gold price of around US$1,100 an ounce and even lower than the 2015 low of US$1,046 an ounce.
Whilst that is certainly bad news for the gold miners – most will still be generating plenty of cash thanks to the Australian dollar exchange rate versus the US dollar. The Australian dollar is currently buying 74.9 US cents – which puts the gold price at A$1,749 an ounce.
Most ASX-listed gold miners have all in cash costs of under A$1,100 an ounce.
Foolish takeaway
After enjoying a stellar run up earlier this year, gold miners and their shareholders could see their share prices reverse course and eliminate much of the gains so far this year.
