Gold prices can continue to climb even after they hit a multi-year high last week, a global investment strategist said.

In fact, prices are set to “reach $2,000 by the end of the year,” predicted David Roche, president and global strategist at London-based Independent Strategy.

Gold prices have been on an upward trend amid recent expectations of a Fed rate cut and heightened geopolitical concerns - conditions that might weigh on the stock market, according to Roche.

“I actually believe financial markets are now poised to crumble like a sand pile,” he told.

Roche projected gold prices would continue going up, partly because international trade tensions will add to the negative sentiment of stock market investors.

“I think the trade conflict with the US is a much far, wider-reaching, global conflict, which will undermine growth expectations in equity markets,” he said.