National Bank Ahead of second-quarter earnings season for the precious metals sector, analysts at National Bank remain constructive on the spot gold price in 2023, but they warn investors are “still potentially facing a near-term volatile period.”
“In our opinion, over the coming months, we could see the spot gold price swing wildly (+/- one or more percent) around key U.S. economic data points with the U.S. Fed’s latest dot plot calling for two additional rate hikes before the end of the year as inflation remains well above the target level and the labour market remains robust,” they said. “Generally, we believe that in this gold price scenario, the best gold companies to invest in continue to be those with near-term production growth that is well funded and relatively lower-risk, and companies with a strong balance sheet and a good catalyst calendar. Based on our 2023 Outlook report, we believe that 2023 could prove a good year to be overweight gold equities.”
In a research report released Friday, the analysts tweaked their price deck for all metals and foreign exchange rates to incorporate second-quarter averages. The most notable change was an increase to the firm’s long-term copper price to US$3.65 per pound from US$3.50 previously.
With that update, analysts made a series of target price adjustments for stocks in their coverage universe.
For senior and intermediate producers, their changes are:
* Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (“outperform”) to $92 from $98. The average on the Street is $90.10.