UNITED STATES March 03 2017 9:45 PM
NEW YORK (Scrap Register): Gold could fall some more if Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen does as her colleagues lately and sounds a hawkish tone when she gives a speech Friday afternoon, but any selloff may end up a buying opportunity, said INTL FCStone in its monthly commodities outlook.
Gold could sell off by as much as $15 to $20 an ounce if Yellen suggests the central bank will hike rates at its next meeting, “but the decline should be used as a buying opportunity,” INTL FCStone added.
One of the factors that should help the precious metal avoid a significant decline is uncertainty ahead of the French elections.
INTL FCStone sees a March range of $1,200 to $1,270 an ounce in gold and a $17.25-$18.50 band in silver.
Analysts concede that they were wrong on their bearish call for platinum and palladium last month, nevertheless reiterate our view that the deceleration we are seeing in the U.S. auto sales, coupled with a sharper-than-expected slowdown in Chinese sales, could eventually cause problems for both metals going forward.
Car sales in the EU (European Union) are also not going to be that impressive either, expected to grow by about 1% in 2017, a sharp slowdown from last year, this according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.
More broadly, LMC Automotive expects the global light vehicle market to show growth of 2.5% (year-on-year) in 2017, well off last year’s 4.6% reading.
INTL FCStone sees platinum ranging between $950 and $1,050 during March and palladium between $710 and $800.
