Gold prices and trading volume are set to rise in the new lunar year amid geopolitical conflicts and expected interest-rate cuts, according to the head of Hong Kong’s bullion bourse, which is eyeing a bigger role in the city’s initiative to become a commodities hub.
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Gold prices would test and even exceed US$3,000 per ounce (28.3 grams) in the Year of the Snake, while trading volume would grow by up to 30 per cent globally, Haywood Cheung Tak-hay, chairman of Hong Kong Gold Exchange (HKGX), said on Monday.
“With the formal establishment of the Hong Kong Gold Exchange, and with the government’s initiative to boost Hong Kong as an international gold trading hub, local gold trading volume will also grow,” Cheung said at a ceremony on the first trading day of the new lunar year. He estimated the increase at 10 to 15 per cent.
The price of bullion rose 35 per cent in the Year of the Dragon to HK$25,600 per tael (US$3,282 for 37.9 grams), and the international gold price hit an all-time high of US$2,790.07 per ounce in October.
Market observers forecast that gold prices will continue rising, as investors are turning to the metal as a safe haven against expected rate cuts and a gloomy economic outlook.
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Formerly the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society, HKGX changed from a club to a corporation late last year and began operation under its new name on January 1.
