Ms Boele from ABN Amro said she has turned negative on the precious metal, with a target of US$1,100 for 2017, citing the threat of a rejuvenated US dollar.

Phillip Futures’ Mr Chan, however, believes that the rally may come back to life next year and forecasts that the price of gold will head back up to US$1,300.

“Most people would look at the US rate hike in terms of how it strengthens the US dollar but there are other factors to consider and the most important one to watch is whether Trump can carry out what he promised, how much inflation that will create and how the Fed reacts to all that,” he told Channel NewsAsia.

There are expectations that a stronger US economy will quicken inflation, which tends to stoke buying interest among investors as they believe the metal will hold its value better than other assets in times of rising consumer prices, Mr Chan explained.

Capital Economics’ commodities analyst Simona Gambarini is forecasting gold prices to reach US$1,450 by end-2017, noting that financial markets have “jumped the gun” in believing that the President-elect will be able to deliver quickly on his promise to ramp up infrastructure spending.