Gold is now 'buy-and-trade asset': Credit Agricole exec

GOLD is no longer a buy-and-hold asset, says Credit Agricole Private Banking Group global head of FX and precious metals Davis Hall.

Instead, it is an "opportunistic buy-and-trade asset", he says. Mr Hall expects gold to trade between US$1,100 and US$1,400 an ounce over the next few months. His call is to buy gold on weakness.

He is also telling private clients to consider palladium, which has appreciated strongly over the past 10 years from US$200 an ounce to US$800, albeit at a relatively slower pace than gold. Yet it hasn't suffered through gold's recent correction, possibly because its price is underpinned by industrial use. "We think it will outperform gold, although it's hard to establish interest among private clients in palladium."