Gold prices will lag industrial precious metals platinum and palladium in 2015, analysts polled by Reuters predict, as a gradually stabilising world economy favours raw materials over so called "defensive" assets.

A poll of 30 analysts conducted by Reuters over the last month returned an average gold price forecast of $1,225 an ounce for next year, against $1,270 an ounce predicted for 2014. That would represent a third consecutive year of losses.