Sentiment toward metals, particularly gold, seems to be bearish these days and an LBMA six-time forecasting winner says he expects the price to trend lower in 2016. Philip Klapwijk, managing director of Hong Kong-based consultancy Precious Metals Insights, said he expects gold prices to trend ‘well below $1,100’ an ounce. ‘I think gold at the moment is looking very ‘toppy,’’ he told Kitco News at the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) conference in Vienna, Austria. However, despite the somewhat bearish call, he said he doesn’t expect the metal to trade at sub-$1,000 levels for too long.
‘That does not mean we can’t get a spike below but I don’t think we’re going to trade for any extensive period below that level,’ he noted. In 2014, the LBMA awarded Klapwijk with the top forecasting title for platinum, which he said should continue to suffer post the Volkswagen scandal. ‘The reason for that is the very high market share of diesel in Europe and the damage, I think, will be done somewhat permanently to diesel’s image in Europe,’ he explained. Comex December gold futures were last quoted $2.40 lower at $1,175.10 an ounce, while Nymex January platinum futures fell $8.20 to $1,011.90.
