I guess the bottom line is will the company be earning more in its country of reporting. If the stock is ASX listed then rising gold causes rising A$ which cancels out to some degree by the time the company reports to ASX.
If the company reports in US$ then gold may go up at the same time as US$ goes down, thereby emphsising the company's bottom line. But cost of production in US$ goes up so that cancels out the effect of increased income.
If gold goes up in absolute terms while currencies remain relatively stationary wrt each other then we have a winner, but what is pushing gold up? Is it pent up demand or the precarious nature of the greenback's value? Is it short covering or a wholesale flight from the greenback?
If it's the desperate flight from the greenback we might have much more to concern us than the value of gold. If it's most currencies depreciating against gold we may have even more to worry about, if our currency is one that is depreciating.
Since gold is usually valued in US$ the cost of production in US$ should be the differentiator of gold stocks. If our currency goes up against the greenback, our gold stocks will go down.
Conclusion? Buy physical gold and when the greenback hits a bottom, sell for US$ and then wait until the greenback appreciates again to exchange for A$.
