Eric Coffin: Gold Price Drivers, Stock Picks and the Case for Zinc

Many market watchers expect the US Federal Reserve to hike interest rates at least one more time in 2017, but Hard Rock Analyst editor Eric Coffin isn’t convinced.
“I would say if we see a rate increase it’s [in] December,” he told the Investing News Network at the Sprott Natural Resource Symposium. “[But] I’m not totally sold on that because to me it looks like the US economy is decelerating slightly — not going over a cliff or anything, but decelerating. I’m not sure they’re going to have a good argument for raising rates in December.”
He sees interest rates as the biggest gold price catalyst, but noted that there are other factors that could move the yellow metal in the second half of 2017. “Any combination of inflation going up and the market recognizing that US growth has actually been decelerating — that will help the gold price,” he said.
Coffin thinks gold will be able to get to $1,300 or $1,350 per ounce fairly easily, but believes that beyond that it’s tougher to make a prediction.
Aside from gold, Coffin is also interested in zinc. “I’ve been pounding the table on zinc for a year now,” he said, noting that he sees the zinc price passing its February high in the next month or so.
He anticipates zinc doing even better in the years to come. “I think this zinc cycle we’ll probably see a higher high than [we saw during] the one … that ended in about 2007,” he noted, adding, “we need new mines in the pipeline, and by and large they’re not there. I think there’s about a two-year window where we could see very strong zinc prices.”
Listen to the interview above for more of Coffin’s thoughts on gold and zinc, plus a look at which companies he’s interested in right now. The transcript for this interview will be added shortly.

• 0:19 — discussion of potential 2017 rate hikes
• 2:13 — other gold price catalysts
• 4:40 — gold price prediction
• 5:44 — companies with drill results pending
• 9:43 — comments on the GDXJ (ARCA:GDXJ) rebalancing
• 11:03 — the case for zinc

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Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.