Why one expert thinks gold is heading lower

Gold (CEC:Commodities Exchange Centre: @GC.1) fell Tuesday and at least one expert thinks the precious metal is going to continue to move lower — at least for the next several months.

While one chart suggests prices could dip to $1,280, it "should go a lot lower than that," said Tom McClellan, editor of The McClellan Market Report newsletter.

That's because gold trades in an eight-year cycle — typically with three years up and five years down, he told CNBC's " Closing Bell " Tuesday.

"We're still working on the five years down from the 2011 to 2012 top, and that's due to bottom late this year, early next year," he said. However, after that, "2017 and 2018 should be a hugely bullish time for gold."

Gold fell Tuesday after Federal Reserve officials sounded a hawkish note on interest rates, boosting the dollar. Investors are now looking toward Friday's jobs report for further clues on the pace of rate hikes. The report is seen as a key measure of the strength of the labor market, which could bolster the case for a rate hike as early as September.

George Milling-Stanley, head of the global strategy team at State Street Global Advisors, isn't banking on gold's downturn. He thinks it can still head higher, although "not a lot."

"I think we're liable to be muted for the remainder of the year but … when I say muted, we could still see $50 or $60 or even $70 on the upside," he told "Power Lunch."

"This may be a weaker time for markets, but this is usually a stronger time for gold, because gold is actually a pretty good counter-cyclical investment," he added.

Meanwhile, even if the Fed hikes rates, gold may act like it did after December's hike when the dollar fell and gold went up, Milling-Stanley said.

— Reuters contributed to this report.

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