Rate Hikes Not ‘Defining Factor’ For Gold, Metal At An Inflection Point – World Gold Council

01-Dec (KitcoNews) — Despite gold’s weakness as markets kick off the fourth quarter, the World Gold Council (WGC) says there is still a case to hold the yellow metal and investors shouldn’t be so focused on the potential of U.S. interest rate hikes. According to Will Rhind, CEO of World Gold Trust Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WGC, rate hikes are not a ‘defining factor’ for gold prices ‘mainly for the simple reason that the majority of gold demand doesn’t come from the U.S. or U.S. investors, it comes from China and India.’ ‘It is certainly a factor in the overall pricing construct of the gold market but it is not the defining factor,’ he added. Rhind noted that the market is actually at a critical point and investors should still consider the metal for portfolio diversification. ‘We’re at an inflection point where gold prices are down year-to-date but they’re down less than the S&P500 YTD,’ he said. ‘Therefore, gold has outperformed on a relative basis the U.S. equities market.’ December Comex gold futures were last quoted down 0.2% at $1,113 an ounce. Rhind also said more market volatility lies ahead and investors should think about ‘increasing a position in gold.’ He argued that the yellow metal is different from the majority of other commodities, which have been in a downtrend since last year when oil prices tumbled. ‘The amount of demand for gold is not just focused from investors, it’s focused from consumers around the world,’ he said. ‘So, over a longer term, gold is actually correlated with economic growth and while that may be counterintuitive to some who look at it purely from an investment lens, it’s actually straightforward from the global demand perspective,’ he explained. Kitco News, October 1, 2015.

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