PETALING JAYA: The best time to purchase gold would be when central banks are buying – like now, international finance expert Mario Singh said.

Following the footsteps of central banks would provide a safer guideline, he said.

“This would be an indication for support,” he said.

The current big buyers are the central banks of Russia, Middle East and Turkey, with Russia being the largest due to geopolitics.

“As mentioned by Gold Corp CEO (chief executive officer) Charles Jeannes, we will experience ‘peak gold’ at the end of 2015. Peak gold represents the highest level of gold production before it starts to fall.

“As supply dwindles, prices will set to increase,” said Mario during the World Economy & Bullion Outlook 2015 seminar held in conjunction with the offical launch of Gold Maple Leaf in Malaysia yesterday.

Mario said there would be a strong support for the metal at US$1,100, as lower prices would cause an imbalance to the “ecosystem”’, making it unprofitable for the industry. It is currently hovering at around US$1,162.

Factors that would contribute to price increase include economic uncertainties, oil prices, geopolitics, physical demand, interest rates and purchases by central banks.

Tomei Consolidated Bhd announced its official distributorship of Gold Maple Leaf in Malaysia during the event.

Gold pieces exhibited and sold during the event were Gold Maple Leaf bullion coins, its limited edition Numismatic collections in various designs and Tomei’s KLCC gold wafers.

The Gold Maple Leaf is the flagship gold bullion of the Royal Canadian Mint and is among the largest mint in the world offering a wide range of specialised, high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale.

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2015/03/20/Now-is-the-best-time-to-buy-gold-says-expert/?style=biz