Bullish Case For Gold Still Very Much Alive - Bloomberg's Hoffman

Many would argue that gold is going up against a brick wall next year: a strong U.S. dollar, rising equities and higher interest rates, which makes gold less attractive as an investment because the metal is not yield-producing. But, Ken Hoffman, global head of metals & mining research for Bloomberg Intelligence, says the bullish case for the metal is still very much present. 'The market wants to see all the positive.but when people start to stand back [they see] the Trump infrastructure plan is not that big at the end of the day; taxes, he has to get through Congress and we have Brexit negotiations that are getting rocky,' Hoffman said when giving his outlook for 2017. 'So, at the end of the day, gold is that safe haven and its real value is probably more than $2,000 ounce,' Hoffman added. Working in gold's favor is a tightening mine supply; Hoffman said that should gold drop below $1,100 an ounce, more mine closures are likely. As to what he is eyeing next, he says rare earths - 'the price has already started to move 15-20%.'