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d e c e m b e r / j a n u a r y 2 0 1 6 www.resourceworld.com 11 it marked the lowest pm fix since gold peaked in September 2011. "This peak is now just over four years ago, meaning that this 'correction', which is how we view this phase, is getting a little long in the tooth," said Martin Murenbeeld, an economist with Dundee Global Investment Management Inc. In its third quarter update and outlook report, GFMS, said it expects gold to average $1,100/oz in the fourth quarter of 2015, down by $75 from our previous forecast. That would bring the 2015 average to $1,159. "Gold is set to remain under pressure until there is more clarity on the timing and the scale of US rates normalization," GFMS said it its report. "Among other bearish factors are low inflation expec- tations and generally weak investor sentiment towards precious metals," it added in the report. "That said, gold may draw some support from a seasonal uptick in physical demand towards year-end, and the prospects look brighter for 2016," said GFMS, which is owned and published by Thomson Reuters. SIlver At the end of August, silver hit a six-year low of $14/oz at the height of the sell-off on equity and commodity markets. "Near-term, we believe there is almost no more upside left in silver," Commerzbank AG analysts said in a report. The strong increase and the high level of speculative net long positions harbour the risk of profit-taking by financial investors, Commerzbank said. It went on to explain that the price of silver will remain very much dependent on gold price trends. Therefore, it said US interest rate expectations and the US dollar performance will also affect the price of silver. "We are looking for a silver price of $16/oz an ounce as of year-end. Pulled along by gold, silver should increase to $17/oz on average in 2016," Commerzbank said. Spot silver was trading at $15.31/oz on November 2, 2015. In a report by Casey Research, it notes that silver's biggest use is in industry, which will impact demand and price. PlATINuM AND PAllADIuM The largest single use for platinum and palladium is for catalytic converters used in the auto sector to reduce emissions. Platinum is also used in the production of jewelry. Platinum is the dominant metal used on diesel engine catalytic converters, whereas palla- dium is the dominant metal in catalytic converters used in gasoline engines. The price turmoil and diverging price trends in platinum and palladium were triggered by the recent Volkswagen emissions scan- dal. When the news became public in late September, the price of palladium increased by up to 15%, within one week. By contrast platinum lost 8% over the period. The manipulation of emissions data for diesel engines could result in lower sales of diesel cars, which is likely to weigh on plati- num short term as it is used in diesel catalysts, Commerzbank said in a report. However, this should only turn out to be a bigger prob-