UNITED STATES February 04 2016 10:01 AM

NEW YORK (Scrap Register): Analysts at HSBC said that the near-term outlook for gold remains positive. Analysts cited the expectations for crude oil to remain soft. 

The recent market trend has been for oil weakness to be read as a sign of sluggish global economic activity, in turn hurting equities. 

“This along with geopolitical stresses for producers associated with low oil prices is likely to keep buoying gold,” said HSBC. 

Further, analysts pointed out that while Kansas City Fed President Esther George said Tuesday that she favors continuing to hike interest rates, she also pointed out that the Fed would still be highly accommodative. 

“This strikes us an overlooked but bullish point for gold,” said HSBC. The bank also cited the euro’s recovery back above $1.09 as a factor helping the yellow metal.