European Central Bank president Mario Draghi has come to the psychological aid of the gold price by urging all central banks to hold tightly on to their gold holdings at this time of poor noble metal value. Judging from the fast pace at which China is continuing to import as much gold as it can, the Asian giant clearly concurs fully with Draghi’s viewpoint. But it is not helping the gold price, which earlier this year even fell below the $1 200/oz level, whacking gold equities. However, South African gold mining companies are generally able to gain some solace from the weakness of the rand against the US dollar, which invariably gives them a bit of a bookkeeping breather.