by Ranjeetha Pakiam

Gold may emerge as one of the Brexit vote' s biggest commodity winners should revised forecasts from a growing number of banks prove correct as the poll' s outcome sets the stage for greater global economic uncertainty and retards the likelihood of rate rises from the Federal Reserve.

Bullion may rally to as much as $US1400 an ounce over the next 12 months, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group  said in a report on Thursday, raising its outlook for the metal even as prices dipped amid signs of revived investor appetite for risk. Earlier Thursday, Singapore-based Oversea-Chinese Banking  also flagged the potential for bullion at $US1400, following increased outlooks from banks including Goldman Sachs.

" With the initial shock now wearing off, markets appear to be functioning relatively well," ANZ said. However, " there are still many questions regarding the UK' s exit from the EU. The ensuing political crisis in the UK  and concern about the very future of the EU should keep investors on edge."

Gold has advanced after the UK' s vote last week as investors sought a haven from financial turmoil and contemplated the implications, including additional easing from the world' s major central banks including the Fed. The investment case for bullion has been strengthened by the UK  result as the fallout may spur more stimulus, hurting currencies and favouring bullion, according to Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report.

 

" With UK' s exit from the European Union, we expect the risk-off sentiment to persist into the months ahead," OCBC economist Barnabas Gan wrote in a note, saying chances of a rise from the Fed in 2016 had receded. The bank put gold at $US1350 an ounce with a single US  hike and $US1400 without.

The odds of the Fed raising by year-end are now only 12 per cent from 50 per cent before the poll, according to futures data. Some traders have even started to price in a cut. ANZ expects the Fed to normalise rates later in the year, most likely after the US  presidential election.

Goldman raised its three-, six- and 12-month targets by $US100, seeing prices at $US1300, $US1280, $US1250 over those periods, according to a report received on Monday. Morgan Stanley also increased its forecasts, citing risks from Brexit, the Fed' s languishing rate hike cycle as well as a benign inflation environment.

Still, not everyone is optimistic. Veteran investor Jim Rogers said this week that he' d rather seek haven in the US  dollar than gold, given that bullion had already rallied in 2016 before the vote. Credit Suisse Group  has said it' s neutral on gold over the next three to six months.