Top Stories This Week: Gold’s Election Outlook, How Trump/Biden Could Impact Mining

The US presidential election is less than a month away, and this week INN’s Georgia Williams asked experts to share their thoughts on what it could mean for gold if Donald Trump is re-elected, as well as what could happen to the yellow metal if Joe Biden wins.

Looking first at what a Trump victory could mean for gold, opinions were mixed.

The market watchers Georgia spoke with agreed that disruption and uncertainty are generally good for gold, and Trump has definitely provided those elements over the course of his presidency.

Aside from that, there’s the question of inflation. Stimulus spending under Trump has created concerns about inflation, and inflation tends to benefit gold. But as Lobo Tiggre of Independent Speculator pointed out, whoever wins the election will need to deal with a challenged economy — in other words, they’ll need to continue stimulus efforts to some extent.

“It’s not a question of if we’re going to have a fiscally conservative versus a profligate government going forward, it’s just a question of how profligate is the government going to be” — Lobo Tiggre, Independent Speculator

So does that mean the outlook for gold is positive no matter who wins? Maybe. Brent Cook of Exploration Insights made a similar comment to Lobo, saying that he thinks the gold price will stay about the same no matter who is elected.

“I think (the gold price) would stay about the same. I mean, bottom line, the amount of money that’s being pumped into the system, in the trillions of dollars and the push towards inflation, those things aren’t going to change regardless of who’s in charge” — Brent Cook, Exploration Insights

Where the outlook really starts to differ is when it comes to the mining sector in general.

The experts Georgia spoke with agreed that Trump is a known entity, and under his administration the resource industry has benefited from decreased regulation; meanwhile, they pointed out that Biden likely would not make mining a priority, and would have a negative impact on the oil and gas industry.

“A Biden administration (would) be disastrous for mining in the US, absolutely disastrous. All the gains we made over four years of the Trump administration will go down the toilet in my opinion, because (Biden/Harris are) anti-mining, anti-development and anti-Keystone pipeline” — Mickey Fulp, Mercenary Geologist

With all of that in mind, we asked our gold-focused Twitter followers this week what they’re doing in advance of the election. A small majority said they’re buying, while many also said they are holding. Very few said they are selling the yellow metal right now.

We’ll be asking another question on Twitter next week, so make sure to follow us @INN_Resource or follow me @Charlotte_McL to share your thoughts.

In the cannabis space this week, I spoke with Gareth Soloway of InTheMoneyStocks, who said there’s been some upward momentum in marijuana stocks as the likelihood of a Biden victory increases.

He expects that to continue in the lead up to the presidential election, and believes there are opportunities for investors to profit.

“I think states should be able to make a judgment to legalize marijuana … but let me tell you, the truth of the matter is there’s not nearly enough evidence that has been acquired as to whether or not it is a gateway drug. It’s a debate, and before I legalize it nationally I want to make sure we know a lot more about the science behind it” — Joe Biden, Democrat presidential candidate

Gareth explained that these cannabis stock increases are based on the idea that marijuana could be federally legalized with the Democrats in power. Interestingly, as we discussed last week, many experts believe that full legalization is unlikely to happen, even with Biden in charge, although other changes to its status may occur with him at the helm.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.