Gold 1312 vs 1316 , $/R 11.06 vs 10.86 , Copper 7.15 vs 7.21 , Nickel 14.28 vs 14.46 , Oil 103.04 vs 102.88
HMY
-0.61%
GLNCY
+0.35%
UBS AG boosted forecasts for gold in 2014, citing a change in U.S. investors’ attitudes toward the precious metal that’s rallied this year on increased haven demand and buying from Asian consumers.
The one-month forecast was raised to $1,280 an ounce from $1,180, while the three-month outlook was increased to $1,350 from $1,100, analysts Edel Tully and Joni Teves said in a report. Gold may average $1,300 in 2014 from a previous estimate of $1,200, they said, while holding the 2015 target at $1,200.
Bullion climbed this year to the highest level in three months as signs the U.S. economy wasn’t recovering in line with expectations boosted demand for a haven. The more bullish view from UBS contrasts with outlooks from Societe Generale SA and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which expect the metal to falter as the Federal Reserve presses on with cuts to stimulus. Gold slumped 28 percent in 2013 as investment holdings contracted.
“Gold has started to shed its stigma, if slowly,” Tully and Teves wrote in yesterday’s report. “Over the past thirteen months gold was either the favorite asset to short or to ignore completely. Recent developments, however, suggest that this is no longer the case, and momentum is returning.”
Gold for immediate delivery was at $1,313.43 at 7:27 a.m. in London from $1,311.60 yesterday. Prices rose to $1,332.45 on Feb. 18, the highest since Oct. 31, and are headed for a second monthly climb. This year, bullion is up 8.9 percent as the MSCI All-Country World Index of equities lost 1.1 percent.