By Jomo Paul
[www.inewsguyana.com] –Gold prices on the international market continue to reflect a downward trend with the latest statistics on www.goldprice.org putting the price for the precious metal at US$1,167.73 on Monday, March o9.
This price, according to reports, is the lowest it has been since the start of 2015. Investment bankers UBS on Monday, downgraded their one and three month forecasts for precious metals with gold expecting to peak at US$1200 in the next three months.
“Within a three-month time-frame, we expect the precious metals complex to come under pressure mainly on the back of gold, as market participants anticipate the first Fed rate hike,” UBS Bank said in a statement.
The one-month gold price forecast was revised to $1,200 per ounce, from a previous $1,240, while the three-month estimate was altered to $1,170 from $1,200.
Observers have predicted that the price of gold will touch $1300 per ounce in the first half of 2015 and $1400 per ounce in second half of 2015.
When contacted on Monday, President of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGMDA), Patrick Harding told iNews that he has similar predictions for the rare natural resource.
He explained that miners continue to be affected by the low prices for gold on the international market and this may be attributed to the low declarations thus far for 2015.
The price of gold plummeted to a four-year low last October– US $1192 before marginally recovering.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the price of gold fell to its lowest level in four years after stronger-than-expected US employment data intensified investors’ concerns about how soon the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates.
The highest price for the precious commodity ever recorded was US$1826.70 in August 2011. In Guyana, the mining and quarrying sector represents a critical component of the economy, accounting for 50 per cent of exports.
The substantial increase in the price of gold over the last few years had given rise to increased declarations and exports.
Much of Guyana’s growth in recent years had come from a surge in gold production in response to then skyrocketing global prices. The downward trend in gold prices may threaten future growth of the economy.
