Commodity Talk: Gold has more room to run and potential for stronger diversification, says UBS' Joni Teves
We remain bullish on gold and think diversification should continue to drive prices higher. We don't think positioning is crowded and there is plenty of room for investors to continue building gold allocations, says Joni Teves, Precious Metals Strategist at UBS Investment Bank. She thinks risks are skewed to the upside for gold, with the potential for even stronger diversification, especially if investors reallocate away from US assets into alternatives like gold.
ADVERTISEMENT Q: The world seems to be a little less uncertain now with the US-China tariff truce, India-Pakistan ceasefire and other things. Do you think UBS's gold price target of $3,500 is achievable and sustainable in 2025?We remain bullish on gold and think diversification should continue to drive prices higher. We don't think positioning is crowded and there is plenty of room for investors to continue building gold allocations.
Q: Gold prices have fallen by over 7% ($250) from their peak and are trading around $3,230 per ounce on the COMEX. Do you see the weakness to continue in the short term and what level could be hit on the downside?
Price action is very headline driven at the moment. There is scope for consolidation over the Northern Hemisphere summer months, but we expect the market to be well supported over all. Interest to buy dips remains high in our view.
Q: The demand for gold has been coming from various quarters like central banks, funds and retail investors and in that context do you think supply and demand are evenly matched and if there is a gap, can you quantify that? There has been an increase in demand for gold across the board, but limited supply response - there is no material hedging from producers and scrap flows are limited by expectations of even higher prices ahead.
ADVERTISEMENT Q: How are you seeing credit rating cuts for the US by Moody's, Fitch and others and can it take the prices even beyond your targets?We think risks are skewed to the upside for gold, with the potential for even stronger diversification, especially if investors reallocate away from US assets into alternatives like gold.
Q: What should be the strategy to trade gold and given the bullish view you have, how much should the allocation be in one's portfolio?
The appropriate level of gold holdings depends on many factors such as the composition of the portfolio, risk appetite, macro view, etc.
ADVERTISEMENT
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)
ADVERTISEMENT
(You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
US suspends nuclear equipment exports to China amid escalating trade war: Report
The US in recent days suspended licenses for nuclear equipment suppliers to sell to China's power plants, according to four people familiar with the matter, as the two countries engage in a damaging trade suspensions were issued by the US Department of Commerce, the people said, and affect export licenses for parts and equipment used with nuclear power equipment suppliers are among a wide range of companies whose sales have been restricted over the past two weeks as the US-China trade war shifted from negotiating tariffs to throttling each other's supply chains. It is unclear whether a Thursday call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would affect the suspensions. The US and China agreed on May 12 to roll back triple digit, tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, but the truce between the two biggest economies quickly went south, with the US claiming China reneged on terms related to rare earth elements, and China accusing the US of "abusing export control measures" by warning that using Huawei Ascend AI chips anywhere in the world violated US export controls. After Thursday's call, further talks on key issues were US Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment on the nuclear equipment restrictions. On May 28, a spokesperson said the department was reviewing exports of strategic significance to China."In some cases, Commerce has suspended existing export licenses or imposed additional license requirements while the review is pending," the spokesperson said in a statement. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for nuclear equipment suppliers include Westinghouse and Emerson EMR.N. Westinghouse, whose technology is used in over 400 nuclear reactors around the world, and Emerson, which provides measurement and other tools for the nuclear industry, did not respond to requests for suspensions affect business worth hundreds of millions of dollars, two of the sources also coincide with Chinese restrictions on critical metals threatening supply chains for manufacturers worldwide, especially America's Big Three could not determine whether the new restrictions were tied to the trade war, or if and how quickly they might be reinstated. Department of Commerce export licenses typically run for four years and include authorized quantities and many new restrictions on exports to China have been imposed in the last two weeks, according to sources, and include license requirements for a hydraulic fluids supplier for sales to license suspensions went to GE Aerospace for jet engines for China's COMAC aircraft, sources U.S. also now requires licenses to ship ethane to China, as Reuters reported first last week. Houston-based Enterprise Product Partners EPD.N said Wednesday that its emergency requests to complete three proposed cargoes of ethane to China, totaling some 2.2 million barrels, had not been said a May 23 requirement for a license to sell butane to China, in addition to the ethane, was subsequently withdrawn. Dallas-based Energy Transfer said it was notified on Tuesday about the new ethane licensing requirement, and planned to apply and file for an emergency sectors that have been hit with new restrictions include companies that sell electronic design automation software such as Cadence Design Systems CDNS.O.
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Business Standard
China clears licence for rare earth suppliers for US automakers: Report
It's unclear what materials are covered by the licenses and at least some are valid for six months, says report Bloomberg China has approved temporary export licenses to rare-earth suppliers of the top US automakers, Reuters reported on Friday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. It's unclear what materials are covered by the licenses and at least some are valid for six months, Reuters said. Restrictions on exports of rare earths imposed by China, the dormant source of the materials, pose risks to the supply chains of global automakers. Suppliers to General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV received permission on Monday to export some rare earth supplies, Reuters said, citing one of the people familiar. The White House had no immediate comment. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday agreed to hold more talks, with Trump saying the leaders in their phone call 'were straightening out some of the points, having to do mostly with rare earth magnets and some other things.' Earlier: The Rare-Earth Fight Imperiling US-China Trade Peace, Explained China's decision to restrict exports of rare-earth minerals in April raised trade tensions with the US, endangering a fragile tariff truce between the world's two largest economies. The move choked off materials that are crucial for aerospace companies and military contractors, in addition to automakers. The US and China traded accusations that each violated the agreement, with Beijing citing Trump administration actions to crack down on tech exports and student visas.


The Hindu
4 hours ago
- The Hindu
When sustainability and low carbon are targets, a factory near Chennai sets an example
Among the hundreds of industries functioning in the Sriperumbudur industrial belt of Kancheepuram district, one factory seems to stand out as far as efficient use of natural resources of water and sunlight is concerned. A solar panel manufacturer has pioneered the art of saving water through the 'Zero liquid discharge' (ZLD) project, with zero waste generation. First Solar, a US-based wholly owned subsidiary of First Solar, Inc, operating within a water-intensive industry segment, is engaged in the manufacture of solar panels for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) located in the SIPCOT Industrial park of Pillaipakkam near Sriperumbudur. The 3.30 giga watt (GW) solar panel manufacturing factory, spanning more than 130 acres, has actualised the mantra of 'reuse, recycle, and repurpose' in the manufacturing process through efficient use of water and manufacturing waste. N.L. Selvakumar, head, environment and recycling, First Solar, who is in charge of the ZLD system, said the factory floor, spanning more than 24 lakh needs water for two purposes — cooling the factory and manufacturing. The company, which requires almost 3.60 million litres of water per day, had tied up with Metrowater to supply tertiary-treated reverse osmosis (RO) water from the Koyambedu sewage treatment plant for the factory's needs. But subsequently, the company set up their own water treatment facility (ZLD), resulting in the reduction of more than 50% dependence on the sourced RO water from Koyambedu plant. The ZLD system, which has been set up and managed in-house, extracts water from the discharged wastewater, and enables its reuse by producing 'ultra pure water' for the manufacturing and cooling processes, thereby drastically reducing the intake of water requirements. The system has enabled the creation of solar modules in the State with the lowest water footprint in the world, compared to traditional polysilicon-based solar panel production, according to the company. The factory, employing more than 1,400 persons, has also set up a sewage treatment facility, which operates a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) sewage treatment plant that utilises the treated water for watering the garden. Over 80 kilolitres per day of treated water is being generated, Mr. Selvakumar added. Sujoy Ghosh, Country Managing Director, First Solar, says the company's commitment to the environment not only lies in water conservation but also in generating clean electricity. He said as part of this, the company had installed their own captive solar plants of 53.66 mega watt (MW) in southern parts of the State. Mr. Ghosh further said the company's green footprint was 35% renewable energy, and ongoing solar projects promise expansion to 116.80 MW. Unlike the manufacturing waste generated by polysilicon-based solar panel producers, the factory, which generates 2% of industrial wastes, recycles them into minerals to be used again for solar panels and crushed glass.