(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors)In a traumatic week for yellow metal a 'flash crash' Monday saw the price tumble to a new five-year low. Reports that five tonnes of the metal had been dumped in two minutes in Shanghai sparked the rout. The sale represented 20% of a normal day's volume and was the catalyst for a US$60 drop in the gold price over the course of the week taking it below US$1100. But the fact there was no swift recovery or any kind of recovery in fact highlighted the gloom that surrounds the precious metal at present. Growing expectation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in September an easing of 'Grexit' fears and a less than expected rise in China's gold reserves were cited as possible reasons. 'The selloff in precious metals of late poses a difficult question to investors' Joni Teves analyst at UBS said. 'Where do prices go from here' Analysts lined up to take half their tuppence worth. Manpreet Gill head of fixed income currency and commodities strategy at Standard Chartered warned: 'Gold may have much more downside. 'Gold yields nothing and in an environment where the dollar is doing well interest rates are rising and other asset classes are going up we do not see why gold should be going up.' He cautioned that gold could reach as low as US$800 before the metal sees a rebound. ABN AMRO expects the metal to fall below US$1000 by the end of the year and hit US$800 by the end of 2016 its lowest level since 2008. Consistent bear Goldman Sachs is going for US$1000 while Morgan Stanley agreed with Gill that a worst-case scenario may see gold dive to US$800. The news caused the gold price to fall further crippling shares in the miners which suffered a torrid week. Canadian giant Barrick Gold the world's largest miner of gold fell 15% to a 25-year low while Yamana Gold another large producer fell 11% its lowest level in a decade. Newmont Mining dropped 12% while Kinross Gold Corporation fell 12% to an all-time low US$1.67. UK-listed miners fared slightly better as brokers concluded they should fare better if conditions don't pick up due to the healthier balance sheets. Citigroup went as far as to stick 'buy' ratings on the three London gold majors Randgold Fresnillo and Acacia on the grounds they are in much better shape than their peers. 'Should gold slip further (a scenario we are not ruling out) they should be able to see out the tail-end of the gold bear market without too much difficulty and may even be able to take advantage of weakness elsewhere to consider corporate activity' the broker said. Spot gold was trading at US$1083 shortly after the US market opened on Friday.
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