Veteran investor Clem Chambers predicts gold will bottom near $3,500 per ounce and silver between $40 and $50, with plans to buy before year end. Chambers, founder of financial website ADVFN, attributes the decline to a bubble rally pullback and easing war tensions, particularly between China and Taiwan earlier this year. Gold has fallen from a January record near $5,600 to around $4,000, while silver has been cut by more than half from its peak above $120 earlier this year, following a selloff Chambers warned about in a May interview with Kitco News.
Chambers Sets Price Targets Near $3,500 Gold and $40-$50 Silver
Chambers described his silver target range in specific terms: "Fifty is the roof of the basement, forty is the floor of the basement," he said. "For gold, that's probably three and a half thousand dollars. It could be a little bit lower."
The investor, known for blunt market calls, said the worst of the price damage is nearly over, though a rebound is not imminent. "We're back into stacking mode very soon," he said, referring to the point at which he would begin dollar-cost averaging back into gold, silver, platinum and palladium. "I will start itching under fifty, and I will start thinking about picking up some bars at that point. But I'm not thinking about plunging and then expecting it to explode. I'm expecting it to go sideways for quite a long time," possibly a couple of years, he said.
War Tensions and Fed Policy Drove Metals Decline
Chambers tied the price turn to geopolitical factors rather than monetary policy alone. "Gold goes up before a war. Gold is for war, because it's a currency during war," he said. "So during a war, you have to sell your gold, like Russia is doing, and I'm sure Iran is doing." He connected the decline to easing tensions between China and Taiwan earlier this year.
The metals retreat has coincided with a hawkish shift at the Federal Reserve under Chair Kevin Warsh and a rise in U.S. real yields to the top of their multi-year range, according to World Gold Council research. North American gold funds have shed tonnes this year while Asian funds and central banks have kept buying, according to World Gold Council data, with the People's Bank of China adding gold for a 20th straight month in June.
Chambers said the metals will ultimately move higher, driven by what he expects to be a heavily inflationary decade. "We're about to go into a seriously inflationary period," he said, arguing that the buildout of artificial intelligence and the reshoring of Western industry will require enormous money printing.
Physical Silver Sellers Face Liquidity Discount Warning
Chambers offered a caution for retail investors who own physical silver, warning that the price on the screen is not always the price a seller can get. "It was down 80% of the screen price, 70% of the screen price," he said of the recent selloff. "Nobody wanted to buy it at the top of the market," because dealers feared being left holding metal that could fall overnight. "The pipeline is choked."
His advice: plan the exit before buying. "Get your exit sorted," Chambers said. "You don't have to sell, but always know how you're going to sell."
AI Infrastructure Investment Thesis Unchanged by Chinese Model Launch
Chambers, who has argued the real money in artificial intelligence lies in physical infrastructure rather than headline models, said the debut of low-cost Chinese model Moonshot Kimi K3, which rattled AI-linked stocks this week, does not change that thesis.
"The models are the tip of the iceberg, and they don't really have a good moat around them," he said, pointing instead to the chips, memory, cabling and power beneath them. "AI will boil the oceans," he said, and it runs on electricity. "China has 250% more energy generation than America. AI is energy," he said. China does hold a wide and growing lead in electricity generation, though international data put the gap at closer to two times U.S. output rather than the larger figure Chambers cited.
UK Technology Stocks Undervalued Amid Acquisition Wave
Chambers said he has been buying cheaply valued technology companies in the United Kingdom, many of which are being acquired by better-funded American buyers. He does not expect the new government of Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took office Monday pledging a "new economic model," to reverse the trend quickly.
"Nvidia is worth more than all the British stocks put together," Chambers said, describing a London market he believes has been "trashed" by taxes and regulation. Asked whether Burnham could turn it around, he said simply, "I hope so."
For investors sitting on losses after buying near the top, Chambers was blunt but encouraging. "If you FOMO'd into it, that was a mistake. Learn the lesson," he said. "It's a skill game. You need to study, and you need to work at it." His summary: "Greed will get you, and study will make you money."
The current environment is as volatile as any he has traded since 2008, but he said the opportunity is real for those who keep their composure. "The quick and the smart and the hardworking and the active will do extremely well," Chambers said. "The passive, the scared, that's not going to be good for them."
FAQ
What price targets did Clem Chambers set for gold and silver?
Chambers predicts gold will bottom near $3,500 per ounce, with silver settling between $40 and $50. He described the silver range as "fifty is the roof of the basement, forty is the floor of the basement," and said gold's bottom could be "a little bit lower" than $3,500.
Why did gold and silver prices fall from their earlier highs this year?
Chambers attributes the decline to a bubble rally pullback and easing war tensions between China and Taiwan earlier this year. The retreat has also coincided with a hawkish shift at the Federal Reserve under Chair Kevin Warsh and a rise in U.S. real yields to the top of their multi-year range, according to World Gold Council research.
What warning did Chambers give to physical silver holders?
Chambers warned that physical silver sellers may receive significantly less than the screen price during selloffs. He said prices were "down 80% of the screen price, 70% of the screen price" during the recent decline because dealers feared being left holding metal that could fall overnight, creating a liquidity bottleneck he described as "the pipeline is choked."
