Coronavirus Round-Up: Possible Treatment Raises Hopes

As the new week kicks off, here’s a round-up of the Investing News Network’s top stories last week covering the coronavirus pandemic.

A new month has kicked off, bringing renewed hopes that the battle against the coronavirus may be taking a turn, with countries starting to outline plans to ease lockdowns while possible treatments for COVID-19 continue to raise optimism.

At the same time, world economies are still facing impacts from the virus outbreak, with US GDP contracting by 4.8 percent in Q1, while the Canadian economy shrank by 9 percent in March.

More than 3.27 million people have now been infected, with the death toll reaching over 232,000 as of last Thursday (April 30). Of the more than 1.26 million closed cases, over 1.03 million have recovered.

To keep investors up to date with what’s been going on in the mining industry related to COVID-19, we’ve put together a round-up of the Investing News Network’s (INN) top stories last week on the pandemic. All information and data were current as of last Thursday.

INN’s COVID-19 coverage: Top stories this week

1. Suki Cooper: Gold to Benefit from Quick COVID-19 Responses

Gold has risen 34 percent since the end of last April, when it was at about US$1,275 per ounce, and is one of the few commodities that has benefited from the current unpredictability seen in the markets.

But while gold has hit record highs across consumer and producer currencies, the yellow metal is still below its peak US dollar value.

“It has set fresh all-time highs across a multitude of other currencies — the Australian dollar, the euro, the South African rand, the CNY and the Indian rupee,” explained Suki Cooper during her presentation at the World Gold Forum, a recent event that was held remotely.

2. 3 Reasons the Gold Price is at a Tipping Point

Investors often hear that they should include gold in their portfolios, and with the yellow metal’s price on the rise this year those calls are only getting stronger.

Speaking in a webinar last Tuesday (April 28), Mark Stacey, head of portfolio management at AGF Investments, made the case for why gold is at a tipping point, saying that now is the time for investors to seriously look at adding it to their portfolios if they haven’t already.

“I think there’s a number of reasons why people have not been investing in gold, but now is the time to consider it — it should be part of your portfolio,” he said.

3. Copper to Play Key Role in Post-COVID-19 World

It would have been impossible to predict what 2020 had in store for the markets and the global economy, but what will the most powerful countries do in a post-COVID-19 world?

Speaking in a webinar, Gianni Kovacevic of CopperBank Resources (CSE:CBK,OTC Pink:CPPKF) discussed copper’s role after the outbreak and the macro trends expected from Asia, Europe and the US.

“The stimulus that is out there is coming (in) at more than US$10 trillion,” said Kovacevic, who is CEO of CopperBank. “And how will these three blocks use this money to stimulate the economy? … I think most of this money will go into modern infrastructure.”

INN’s COVID-19 coverage: The bright side

Last week, an experimental drug called remdesivir raised hopes that the fight against COVID-19 may be closer to an end. Initial data in a study shows that it shortens the recovery time of hospitalized patients.

Daniel O’Day, CEO of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD), which manufactures the drug, said the major biopharmaceutical company will focus on making remdesivir accessible and affordable to as many people as possible once it is approved.

In commodities, gold was still hovering around the US$1,700 level for most of the week, with silver also trading around the US$15 per ounce mark. Base metals were also holding onto gains, with nickel testing the US$12,000 per tonne level.

Aside from coronavirus-related news, last week the mining space saw Silvercorp Metals (TSX:SVM,NYSE:SVM) announce plans to buy Guyana Goldfields (TSX:GUY) in a C$105 million cash and stock deal. Meanwhile, billionaire Eric Sprott invested C$60 million in MAG Silver (TSX:MAG,NYSEAMERICAN:MAG). Sprott recently said that the obvious purchases today are gold and silver — the physical metals themselves.