SUHKHIRIN, Thailand (Reuters) – As the yellowish mud swirls away in the waters of Thailand’s Sai Buri river, Sunisa Srisuwanno lifts her wooden pan with a cluster of gleaming specks caught in the centre.
“That’s 100 baht,” she said, pointing to grains worth about $3.30 after little more than 15 minutes work with her gold panning partner, Boonsom Aeamprasert.
With global gold prices near an all-time high, the women are a rare bright spot for an economy hard hit by the collapse of tourism amid coronavirus travel restrictions.
“The gold panning business is doing well, especially during COVID-19,” said Sunisa, a 37-year-old mother of two. “Panning gold is our main staple. We sell gold today, we are able to buy food to feed the family.”
The area’s name – Gold Mountain – indicates that mining has gone on longer than anyone can remember in Sukhirin District, on Thailand’s southern border with Malaysia.
But it has been made more lucrative by rising gold prices, up nearly a quarter over the past year.
The rest of Thailand’s economy is suffering, with the central bank forecasting a 6.6% contraction this year.
Thailand’s deep south, scene of a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency, lacks the beach resorts, nightlife or temples that draw so many tourists to the country.
But visitors who come to Sukhirin for hiking, kayaking and wildlife are still an important income source – at least until the pandemic struck.
“As the community was forced to shut down the attractions, we had to switch from welcoming tourists to digging and sifting for gold,” said Wari Bantakit, 40, who works for a community tourism group.
Some gold sifters use just a shovel, a pan and a plastic squeezy bottle to suck up the grains – and the occasional nugget. Others try to find the best prospects by scrabbling underwater with a snorkel mask.
There are men among the gold panners, but miners said the draw of gold is particularly appealing for women. Men traditionally gather wood and forage in the forests.
“Housewives who used to sell stuff, vegetables, food to tourists were forced to stop,” said Wari. “They had to turn to gold panning. It’s become the main job.”
(Writing by Matthew Tostevin; Editing by Gareth Jones)
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
