UBS advises investors to put money in gold as hedge against economic uncertainty

The recent weakness of gold represents a “great entry point for investors” ahead of risk events such as the US election, said UBS Global Wealth Management.

“We like gold, because we think that gold is likely to actually hit about $2,000 per ounce by the end of the year,” the firm’s regional chief investment officer Kelvin Tay told CNBC.

He explained that “in [the] event of uncertainty over the US election and the Covid-19 pandemic, gold is a very, very good hedge.”

Gold prices skyrocketed to record highs this year, surpassing $2,000 per ounce in August for the first time in history. The price of bullion has dipped lately, trading at around $1,900 per ounce as of Tuesday.

According to Tay, the precious metal is also attractive due to the low interest rate environment. He pointed out that if interest rates stay low as the US Federal Reserve has indicated, the opportunity cost of holding gold (which is a non-yielding asset) will be “quite low.” That’s because investors are not forgoing interest that would be otherwise earned in yielding assets.

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