Hochschild and Fresnillo slip as gold price knocked by Trump speech on Iran Proactive uses images sourced from Shutterstock
Hochschild Mining PLC (LSE:HOC, OTCQX:HCHDF) and Fresnillo PLC (LSE:FRES) led a broad sell-off in FTSE 350 precious metals stocks on Thursday morning as gold prices pulled back from recent highs after US President Donald Trump said Iran would be “extremely hard” for up to three more weeks.
Shares in the FTSE 250-listed Hchschild fell 6.9%, with fellow mid cap Pan African Resources PLC (LSE:PAF) dropping 6.8%.
On the FTSE 100, Fresnillo declined 5.4% and Endeavour Mining PLC (LSE:EDV, TSX:EDV, OTCQX:EDVMF, FRA:6E2) lost 5%.
Gold prices fell 3% to $4,641 an ounce and silver 4.5% to $71.7 an ounce. After hitting record highs in January, precious metals have been driven lower during the Iran war as investors took profits.
President Trump declared in a national address on Wednesday night that the core strategic objectives of Operation Epic Fury in Iran were “nearing completion”, expecting US forces would “finish the job” within “two to three weeks”.
He added, “We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two or three weeks. We are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong” unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.
Trump reiterated his claim that Iran has sought a ceasefire and that talks were “going very well”, though Tehran’s foreign ministry called the assertion “false and baseless”.