Gold price rallies towards $2,100 as investors seek safe-haven assets

Dubai - The precious metal is benefiting from heightened uncertainty around the long-term effects of the global health crisis.

Gold prices continued their bullish trend on Wednesday after breaching the $2,000 psychological barrier, and hit new peak of $2,041 per ounce as investors looked for safe-haven assets amid the rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has left over 18.7 million infected and 700,000 dead.

Market insiders and experts said gold will sustain its upward trend and may cross the $2,100 level before going for a price correction next week. They said the yellow metal will shine in the wake of a weak dollar, falling US Treasury yields and expectations of more stimulus measures for the pandemic-ravaged global economy.

"The precious metals are likely still in the early stages of a long-cycle bull market despite the impressive 30 per cent rally for gold and 70 per cent rally in silver from the March lows. We see opportunities for gold to continue its rally to $2,100 per ounce," said Norman Villamin, chief investment officer of wealth management at Union Bancaire Privée (UBP).

"In silver, we seek opportunities to build positions as the bull market in silver continues into 2021. With the scramble for physical metal intensifying, we continue to prefer physical gold and silver to their financial counterparts," he said.

The precious metal is also benefiting from heightened uncertainty around the long-term effects of the global health crisis.

Carsten Menke, head of Next Generation Research at Julius Baer, said gold rallied above $2,000 per ounce for the first time ever on fears that more money printing in the US will lead to rapidly rising inflation and a debasement of the US dollar.

"We struggle to share these views and consequently believe that gold trades at the upper end of a fundamentally justified range. Even though the rally can run further, it is clear for us that the market at current levels is suited for short-term traders rather than safe-haven seekers," he said.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said gold extended its record-breaking rally and surged to the $2,041 per ounce on prolonged US fiscal stimulus talks, rising threats to the US-China trade deal and Beirut explosion.

"So far, we haven't seen much profit-taking on the recent push. It will be interesting to watch how investors behave above the $2000 mark. Either we will see a solid support building at this level, offering a new basis for a further advance as investors increase hedges against the mounting global inflation risks amid massive monetary and fiscal stimuli, or a sharp downside correction if speculative traders judge there is little potential left for more gains," Ozkardeskaya said.