GOLD PREDICTED TO REACH $1 600 AN OUNCE

GOLD WILL EXTEND its winning ways as the US-China standoff harms growth, risking a deeper slowdown and inviting more central-bank easing, according to UBS Group, which jacked up price forecasts with a prediction that the precious metal may hit $1 600 an ounce (R24 365) within three months. “The trade war between the United States and China has escalated to a new level,” Giovanni Staunovo and Wayne Gordon, analysts at the wealth management unit, said in a report received yesterday. “Gold has demonstrated its safe-haven qualities and we stay long on the metal, a trade we initiated in mid-May.” Gold is proving its worth as a haven this year as the two largest economies trade blows, with a significant escalation on Friday, followed by more hard-line remarks from President Donald Trump tweeted over the weekend. The Federal Reserve reduced interest rates last month as risks mounted. | Bloomberg