It has been yet another day of disappointment for shareholders of Australia's gold miners. In early afternoon trade the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold (Index: ^AXGD) (ASX: XGD) is lower by over 2.5% as the gold price continues to trade at low levels.
At the time of writing the spot gold price is fetching US$1.171 an ounce, down around 3.5% since last week.
As you can see on the chart below, today's decline means the gold index is down by a whopping 16% in the last month as traders head for the exits.
Notable declines today include the likes of Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR), Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL), St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM), Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM), Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG), and Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU).
Each of these gold miners is down at least 2%, with Beadell Resources the worst of the bunch with an 8% decline today.
I suspect the prospect of rising interest rates in the United States and traders turning their attention to speculative oil shares has played a role in these declines.
Barring any market turmoil caused by the referendum in Italy on Sunday, I see no real catalyst driving the gold price higher in the next few months. For this reason I would suggest investors avoid the sector no matter how tempting it may appear after recent declines.
