It certainly hasn't been a great start to the day for many of Australia's leading gold miners.
In morning trade the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold (Index: ^AXGD) (ASX: XGD) has fallen 4.5% as investors' appetite for risk returns following the result of the French election first round.
With Independent candidate Emmanuel Macron now favourite to win the election in a fortnight, fears that France could be next to leave the European Union have abated for the time being.
This has led to the spot gold price retreating almost 2% from its high last week to US$1,261 an ounce today.
Notable declines in the sector include the St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) share price, the Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) share price, the Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) share price, and the Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR) share price.
At the time of writing the shares of each of these gold miners have tumbled around 6%.
What's next?
Whilst I am bearish on the gold price in the long-term due to rate rises in the United States, in the short term I do believe there is a chance it could hold firm at current levels or even edge higher.
Rising tensions in North Korea and a potential surprise result in the French election could be catalysts to driving the precious metal's price higher over the next few months.
But despite this I wouldn't suggest investors gamble on gold. Leave that to the day traders and focus on high quality investment options in the information technology or healthcare sectors instead.
There are plenty of quality companies trading at great prices which I expect to provide far greater returns over the next 12 months than the gold miners.
