Gold Could 'Rally Significantly' On These Catalysts

2019 is shaping up to be a good year for gold if macroeconomic factors line up in place, said Erik Norland, senior economist at the CME.

"If we see the labor market continuing to tighten, with unemployment rates falling even further, if we see some upside pressure on inflation, that could be extremely bullish for gold," Norland told Kitco News.

U.S. data has shown some "worrisome" signs, especially as they relate to metals, Norland said.

"I think what's worrisome though, especially for metals markets, is that late in the year, we started to see a lot of very soft data, especially with respect to the U.S. housing market. We saw price declines in a number of markets and a lot of softness in housing starts and building permit data, so I think that's sending maybe not such a strong signal as we go into 2019," he said.

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This article was written by a staff member of TheStreet.