Will Gold Drop Below $1,000 an Ounce?

Precious Metals

The gold price has been hovering between $1,250 and $1,270 an ounce as of late. Is it heading for a significant drop?

Since early October, the gold price has lost a significant amount of steam, dropping well below its post-Brexit price of $1,365.40 per ounce back in July. 
Contributing factors, of course, included the week-long Chinese Holiday at the beginning of the month and investors looking ahead to the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Still, the yellow metal hasn’t been able to recover from its largest price decline in over 15 months.
A stronger US dollar–which has reached an eight-month high–has also put pressure on the gold prices. As of 4:18 p.m. EST on October 24, the yellow metal was $1,264.10–a 5.48 percent loss over a 30-day period.
That being said, some say the gold price forecast is only expected to carry on with its bearish ways.

Gold price forecast: $1,000 an ounce?

While the gold price has made overall strides year-to-date–rising 18.54 percent from $1,076.30 an ounce to its current price of $1,264.10–by 2018 it is expected to drop well below that.
An analyst going by the name of StreetAuthority believes that now is the time to invest, as they project the gold price to drop below $1,000 an ounce over the next two years.  While the gold price hit an all-time high back in 2011–at $1,924 per ounce–it has never gone above its record-highs.
StreetAuthority further added that investors watching the gold space should expect its prices to drop under its previous low of $1,050 an ounce–made in late 2015–on the anticipation of the US dollar becoming stronger and China’s growth reducing demand for gold.
“The resulting decrease in global volatility has resulted in less demand for safe haven assets such as gold,” the publication noted.

Other predictions

On the opposite end of the spectrum, other analysts expect gold prices to gain momentum. Jeffrey Nichols, senior economic advisor at Rosland Capital LLC, recently spoke with the Investing News Network (INN) and said demand for gold is expected to pick up significantly.
In the interview, Nichols said he sees “unbelievable opportunities” for investors as gold prices are expected to rise significantly in the coming years. In particular, Nichols said the gold price is “going to more than double,” while the US economy, financial markets and capital markets are also expected to make changes.
“To works themselves out requires significant adjustments in the market and those are all favorable to support more gold demand in the years ahead,” Nichols said.
The panel polled in FocusEconomics‘ October 2016 Consensus Forecast also expect the gold prices to pick up lost ground, as early as the fourth quarter of 2016, to $1,334 per ounce. Demand from India, as wedding season and Diwali approaches, is also expected to be a driving factor in ramping up gold prices.
Looking to 2017, panelists see gold prices holding stead at $1,346 per ounce by the end of the year.
Of course, nothing is set in stone. Nonetheless, investors will be keen to watch the gold space in the coming months and years.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates.
Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

The Conversation (0)
×