Gold Outlook

UPDATE 1-Macquarie cuts North American gold cos Q4 outlook9:35AM ET on Wednesday Jan 04, 2012 by Thomson Reuters

* Expects average gold price to sequentially decline 2 pct to $1,676/oz in Q4

* Lowers target prices for North American gold producers by 13 pct on average

* Cuts price targets on Kinross Gold, Barrick Gold, Iamgold

* Cuts price targets on Silver Wheaton, Eldorado Gold (Follows alerts)

Jan 4 (Reuters) - Macquarie Equity Research cut its fourth-quarter earnings outlook for North American gold producers, including Kinross Gold Corp and Barrick Gold Corp, by an average of 17 percent in anticipation of lower gold prices.

"Heading into 2012, we expect capital and operating cost pressures to remain a concern, but to increase less sharply than in 2011," said Macquarie, which forecast a 2 percent fall in gold prices to $1,676 per ounce in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The brokerage said near-term earnings for North American gold producers is also likely to be hurt by rising costs and the sector is unlikely to see any significant merger and acquisition activity in 2012.

"In 2012, we envision greater spending on exploration and on smaller bolt on acquisitions," said analyst Tony Lesiak, who cut his price target on Canadian gold producers by an average of 13 percent.

Macquarie's Lesiak is a three-star rated analyst for the accuracy of his earnings estimates on companies in his coverage universe, according to Thomson Reuters' Starmine data.

Lesiak said operating margins could stabilize in 2012 and expects the weakness in earnings to be short-lived. He sees the North American gold sector producing 12 percent more gold in 2012 than last year, and named Kinross and Barrick as his top picks.

In December, BNP Paribas cut its gold price forecasts for 2012 and 2013 citing uncertainty in the global markets.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's subindex of gold mining stocks has fallen about 12 percent in the last one month to close at 373.26 points on Tuesday.

Spot gold was at $1,597.29 an ounce at 1427 GMT, while most-active COMEX February gold futures were slightly down at $1,599.20. (Reporting by Rachel Chitra in Bangalore; Editing by Tenzin Pema and Supriya Kurane)



Jan 4, 2012
UPDATE 1-Macquarie cuts North American gold cos Q4 outlook9:35AM ET on Wednesday Jan 04, 2012 by Thomson Reuters

Companies Mentioned: G, AUQ, P, GSC, IMG, K, OSK, SLW,SMF, YRI, ABX, AEM, AGI, ARZ, ORA, ELD

Jan 3, 2012
Aura Minerals Announces Appointment of New Director4:24PM ET on Tuesday Jan 03, 2012 by Marketwire
Companies Mentioned: GFI, BGOZF, BKLRF, ORA, ARMZF
Aura Minerals Announces Appointment of New Director4:23PM ET on Tuesday Jan 03, 2012 by Marketwire Canada
Companies Mentioned: GFI, BGOZF, BKLRF, ORA, ARMZF

K=Thousands, M=Millions, B=Billions, TTM=Trailing 12 Month, MRQ=Most Recent Quarter, FYR=Fiscal Year End, NM=Not Meaningful, NA=Not Available
4:08 PM January 26, 2012