Gold price likely to advance to $1,500 an ounce in a year
London (Nov 5) Optimism is high among delegates at the London Bullion Market Association’s 2018 precious metals conference, even as general investors continue to ignore the sector.
In a conference poll, 682 attendees said that they see gold prices rising to $1,532 an ounce by the next conference in 2019.
The outlook comes as gold prices struggled to hold on to last week’s three-month high. December gold futures ended Tuesday’s session at $1,225 an ounce, down 0.20% on the day. However, the LBMA forecast represents a 25% increase from current prices.
“This is the most bullish forecast since 2012,” said Ruth Crowell, chief executive of the LBMA.
For silver, the delegates see the metal rising to $15 an ounce by next year. December silver settled Tuesday’s session at $14.465 an ounce, up 0.13% on the day. The LBMA forecast represents a 3% gain for the year. Platinum is expected to rise to $1,010 an ounce and palladium is likely to increase to $1,195, a 20% and 12% rise from current prices, respectively.
For the rest of the year, the delegates said that they see palladium as the best performing metal and silver as the sector laggard.
Positive outlook for palladium was one of the critical themes of the conference as many analysts noted that the metal is benefiting from a significant supply deficit as demand continues to grow.
The bullish outlook for the precious metals comes as many conference participants acknowledged that interest in the sector among general investors is close to non-existent.
John Reade, chief market strategist and head of research at the World Gold Council described the sentiment at the conference as positive but “low energy.”
Many analysts have said that while sentiment is improving within the sector, the market needs to see consistent momentum to attract new investors. Many noted that gold is starting to draw attention as a defensive asset as equities are seeing strong selling pressure and higher volatility. Other participants have said that rising inflation pressures will eventually bring investors back to the marketplace.
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