Aristos Asset Management Singapore forecasts the price of gold to reach $1,500 per ounce at the end of 2016 / beginning of 2017.

Singapore -- (SBWire) -- 08/15/2016 --According to recent data from the World Gold Council, demand from investors set a record of 1,064 tons in the first 6 months of this year, driving the price of gold up 25% to $1,330 per ounce. The demand in the first 6 months of this year has been 16% higher compared to the first half of 2009, when the world was in a recession.

"This increased demand is coming mostly from exchange traded funds (ETFs) and other financial institutions", commented Jonathan Nielsen, Head of Corporate Trading at Aristos Asset Management in Singapore.

"The interest rates are low at the moment. In the UK, The Bank of England has reduced its interest rate from 0.5% to 0.25%. In Switzerland, the rates are in negative territory, and the United States is expected to keep them low for quite some time. So we have seen a massive influx of buying in gold, since all the other markets have been rather volatile this year and are not producing enough return for investors. "

"In addition to that, Central Banks in China and Russia have been buying staggering amounts Gold to diversify their US dollar holdings, and starting September last year, China's Shanghai Gold Exchange has allowed physical gold to be used as collateral on futures contracts. "

"Looking forward, we have geopolitical factors such as unrest in the Middle East, the effects of the UK vote to leave the EU, upcoming presidential elections in the US, and the Italian crisis, with Italy recently announcing zero economic growth and Italian banks having 360 billion euros of non-performing loans on their books, a third of Eurozone's total.", he added.

Aristos Asset Management and other major financial institutions expect Gold to be trading at $1,500 per ounce and more at the end of this year / beginning of next year.

About Aristos Asset Management
Aristos Asset Management Singapore has been offering tailored commodity advice to select corporate and retail clients since 2007.