Gold prices may hit all-time highs in the next 18 months amid low to negative global bond yields, said a fund manager on Monday, joining a chorus of bullish calls on the safe haven commodity.
Despite being a non-interest bearing asset with holding costs, gold was attractive in the current climateม said Swiss Asia Capital's Singapore managing director and chief investment officer, Juerg Kiener.
Global gold holdings have expanded by more than 500 metric tons since bottoming in January in a signal of investors’ rising concern about slowing growth, a Federal Reserve that’s probably on hold and the ructions caused by Britain’s vote to quit the European Union.
Assets in bullion-backed exchange-traded funds rose 6.6 tons to 1,959.1 tons on Friday, up from 1,458.1 tons on Jan. 6, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The holdings increased 37 tons last week as investors reacted to the U.K.’s vote, and swelled in five months out of six in the first half.
Bullion prices climbed to the highest level in more than two years in June as investors absorbed the implications of the U.K. result, adding to a rally that’s been driven by the Fed’s hesitation in raising borrowing costs and the spread of negative rates in Europe and Japan.
“The low-yield environment globally, and increased volatility in the financial markets as a result of a number of key geopolitical developments, have increased the appeal of gold as an investment and safe-haven asset respectively,” said Vyanne Lai, an economist at National Australia Bank Ltd. The push-back in the markets’ expectations for the timeline of further U.S. rate hikes suggests further upward potential for prices, she said.
Reference: Bloomberg, CNBC