YikesGold To Fall To $1,000 By Year End, $800 In 2016 - ABN Amro ABN Amro is one of the latest banks to downgrade its outlook on gold after prices hit a five-year low; the Dutch bank now expects the yellow metal to be the worst performing precious metal this year. In a report released Wednesday, the bank says that they now expect gold prices to end the year at $1,000 an ounce, and eventually fall to $800 an ounce by the end of 2016. In the short-term, they expect gold to fall to $1,050 an ounce by September, down from their previous forecast of $1,100. The analysts add that they see four factors that are dragging down gold prices: reduced jewelry demand due to weaker Chinese equity markets, improved investor sentiment following a funding agreement made between Greece and its creditors, a stronger U.S. dollar and an eventual rate hike from the Federal Reserve. Investors will likely liquidate gold positions when US dollar and U.S. rates go up in an environment where inflation expectations remain muted and investor sentiment is constructive, they say. [T]he adjustment in expectations that the Fed will start hiking this year have made precious metals that yield zero to almost nothing very unattractive.