Experts forecast gold prices as continuing to rise with the precious metal providing a secure hedge against a weaker US dollar.
Matthew Bohlsen of online investor advice service InvestorIntel says that with global equity markets looking frothy, reserve banks printing record amounts of money and COVID-19 still rampant, gold seems a good place to park some of 2020’s profits in 2021.
“Gold usually does well in times of turbulence and can be a good hedge against a weaker US dollar and inflation. Gold performs best when rates are low and right now we have historic low US interest rates,” he added.
Currently, gold is averaging around $1,923 per ounce but it is forecast to go higher in 2021.
Bohlsen continued: “Several large US investment banks are bullish on gold. Last year the Bank of America forecast gold to hit $3,000 an ounce by October 2021. Goldman Sachs said gold prices should climb to an average of $2,300 an ounce in 2021,” he said.
Bohlsen said if the above forecasts are anywhere near correct, then gold companies will have the potential for an excellent year in 2021.
“Equities may struggle in 2021 after recent all-time highs, ones which saw the S&P 500 gain 16.26 percent in 2020. That would have been 18.4 percent if dividends of 2.14 percent were included,” he said.
One of the gold-mining companies to follow in 2021, according to InvestorIntel, is Angkor Resources Corp, a leading Canadian gold, base metals, oil and gas explorer active in Cambodia.
As reported by Khmer Times in December, the company reported it had finished its mapping and sampling programme in Cambodia’s Andong Meas region – dubbed the “well of gold” in Khmer – with positive results.
The company, which has multiple properties and exploration licences in Cambodia, reported that four new gold targets were identified by its team around the outer rim of the previously discovered “Canada Wall” porphyry copper target. Porphyry copper ore bodies are formed from hydrothermal fluids that originate from a voluminous magma chamber several kilometers below the deposit itself.
Porphyry is prized for its great compressive strength and exceptional durability. For this reason it is now most commonly used as a paving stone and it is often found near metal ores.
“The anomalies appear to be similar to other structurally controlled gold occurrences identified on the Andong Meas and Oyadao North licences,” the company added.
According to the company, their 100 percent-owned Andong Meas property, which is located 50 kilometres east of the Ratanakiri province capital Banlung in northeast Cambodia, remains one of their most exciting tenements, with further exploration coming up after the company initially reported having found that its high-grade samples indicated up to 70.7 grammes per tonne in August.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
