Gold prices to rally to $1,600 by end of 2020

KITCO---"Easy monetary policy and low interest rates are here to stay and that will support gold prices in the long term, but investors need to be a little patient, according to one market analyst. In her 2020 outlook forecast published Wednesday, Georgette Boele, senior FX and precious-metals strategist at ABN AMRO, said that she is bullish on the precious metals next year, but the yellow metal could see a modest correction in the first half of the year....Looking past the near-term risks, the Dutch bank is bullish on gold, looking for the price to push above $1,600 an ounce by December 2020...Monetary policy and lower real interest rates are the biggest reasons Boele expects to see higher prices in the second half of 2020. She added that ABN AMRO economists expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in the first quarter of 2020. 'Central banks remain keen to support growth and/or to reach their inflation target. In the near term, we expect growth in the eurozone to remain weak and the economic situation in the U.S. to deteriorate,' she said. 'The outstanding amount of negative-yielding government bonds will probably grow; while gold has no yield, it is at least not paying negative rates.' Boele also said that weak economic growth should weigh on the U.S. dollar, providing another bullish factor for gold."