2017 Will Be The Year of the Yellow Metals

The Investing News Network (INN) was at this year’s Vancouver Resource Investment Conference this week, and had the chance to see industry experts and thought leaders share their knowledge, forecasts and stock picks.
On Monday, INN sat in on the “2017: Year of the Yellow Metals” presentation by keynote speaker Louis James of Casey Research. He discussed his thoughts on gold, uranium and how Trump’s presidency could affect the markets.
James told the audience that he is very bullish on both gold and uranium this year. “I think 2017 will deliver better gains than last year. I have personally put more money in the market this year than ever before,” he said.

Gold: Uncertainty Will Drive Prices

James started his presentation by discussing how Trump has brought uncertainty into the markets, driving the gold price with a simple tweet or comment.
“If Donald Trump continues to be Donald Trump, then I think that it is a good thing for gold. He is a source of high-level continuing chaos generation and instability in the markets, and that is a good thing for gold,” he said.
Other factors to pay attention to will be Trump’s infrastructure spending plan and what happens to the US dollar. Trump has already mentioned that the US dollar is too strong, and that could potentially bring policies that will benefit resources and precious metals investors.
But uncertainty in the world will not only come from Trump’s presidency. What happens in China and Europe, along with many other political events this year, will add to instability as well.
James also said that for investors interested in gold there is no point going back to the basics of supply and demand.
“You have to ask yourself, are we going to need safety assets? Is the world getting safer? Is the economy getting stable? If the answer is no, then you turn to precious metals,” he added.

Uranium: Bullish but Cautious

On another note, James shared his thoughts on one of the biggest and most significant recent pieces of news for the uranium market: Kazakhstan’s decision to cut production by 10 percent this year.
While he is positive about uranium’s prospects, James said investors should be cautious about that development and should not get too excited as there is some risk involved.
“Kazakhstan’s decision was not because they had problems with mines, it was not because they were asking for money or energy insufficiency. It was a political decision to sell at higher prices, and it can be reversed whenever they want or need to,” he commented.
What’s more, Kazakhstan’s production cut does will make the uranium supply glut go away by itself.
That said, James still believes in uranium and is bullish about the commodity. His uranium stock picks include Fission Uranium (TSXV:FCU), NexGen Energy (TSXV:NXE) and UEC (NYSEMKT:UEC).
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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.