Gold’s price potential still ‘explosive’ amid Beijing hoarding, Hong Kong trading push
Rising demand from central banks to drive a rebound despite temporary downside pressure from energy and interest rates, Goldman Sachs says
Gold prices have “explosive” upside potential, according to analysts, boding well for Hong Kong’s ambitions as a trading hub as Asian central banks continue to have a voracious appetite for stockpiling bullion.
Supporting the outlook, Beijing – which has added to its gold reserve for 20 straight months – wants to better connect the Shanghai Gold Exchange to Hong Kong, and the South Korean central bank plans to buy gold for the first time in 13 years.
“Gold remains in an explosive phase of the price process,” said Michael Hsueh, research analyst at Deutsche Bank. The bank expected the gold price to reach US$4,700 per ounce by the end of the year, above its forecast of US$4,600 per ounce in the fourth quarter.
“Official demand for gold has now risen to a record of US$45 billion in the second quarter,” Hsueh said. “The trend of a substantial unreported component to official demand does remain in place.”