MOSCOW, January 4. /TASS/. The recent weakening of the ruble may provide additional support to Russian gold mining companies in terms of production costs in 2023, according to experts interviewed by TASS.

According to their forecasts, the average price of gold will reach $1,9000 per troy ounce. Experts also anticipate that the demand for physical gold in Russia and around the world will continue to grow.

Boris Krasnozhenov Head of Equity Research at Alfa-Bank, noted a possibility of a significant volatility of market gold prices. According to his estimates, the price of gold in 2023 will average about $1,900 per troy ounce. At the same time, due to volatility, the price can move in a wide range from $1,700 to $2,100.

"The dynamics of the price of gold will be influenced by short-term expectations on the dynamics of the US Federal Reserve rates, the development of the situation in the Chinese economy, inflation dynamics, geopolitical factors and expectations regarding the global recession," Krasnozhenov said. According to him, some market experts predict gold prices to rise to $3,000-4,000 per troy ounce in 2023. "This is possible if the world's central banks lose the ability to control inflation," the expert said.

Director of strategy at Finam Yaroslav Kabakov believes that if the US Federal Reserve continues to raise rates and the US economy can avoid recession, the dollar will continue to strengthen against major currencies, and gold prices can remain at current levels in 2023. "However, in the mid-term, high interest rates will slow down economic growth, which will weaken the dollar and lead to another gold prices rally," the expert said.

Gold miners are tied to the dollar, so the weakening of the ruble boost their revenues and the demand from the population. "There is no doubt that we will see an increase in the profits of gold miners in 2023," Kabakov believes.