Gold buying expected to rise as OPEC meeting approaches

A member of staff at a prominent futures broker has claimed today (December 8th) that gold prices could be boosted in the next few weeks if oil production is cut further, Reuters reports.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is set to meet on December 17th in Algeria, with wide expectations that output will be slashed.

With oil prices tending to impact similarly on the price of the yellow metal, Edward Meir, from MF Global, believes that now could be a prudent time to be investing in gold.

He told the news provider: "OPEC's meeting is nine days away, meaning that we could see some strengthening leading into the meeting."

Chakib Khelil, who is Algeria's energy minister but also the president of the 13-country cartel, hinted recently that further reductions could be on the cards after it cut production by 1.5 million barrels per day in October.

"We have always said that our objective is 70 to 90 dollars a barrel. If the barrel price does not reach this level, there will probably be another (production) cutback," he said.

Oil currently stands at just over $40 per barrel after losing 25 per cent of its value last week - the biggest weekly fall in nearly 18 years.

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