Gold Rises as Goldman Sachs Lifts Year-End Forecast to $3,300/oz
Gold prices jumped Thursday, after Goldman Sachs on Wednesday raised its year-end forecast of the commodity to $3,300 per troy ounce level.
The investment bank had a target of $3,100/oz previously. Gold prices, which have surpassed $3,000/oz on March 14, and are now around $3,045/oz, have jumped in the past year as investors, anxious about escalating trade wars and U.S. economic growth, have flocked to traditional safe havens.
Analysts Lina Thomas and Daan Struyven said their increased year-end target reflected higher-than-estimated inflows into gold by exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as well as “continued strong central bank gold demand.” They said they expect large Asian central bank buyers to “continue their rapid gold purchases for another 3-6 years.”
The analysts said investors could find “entry points” to acquire gold under two cases : A Russia-Ukraine peace deal that triggers speculative selling or a sharp drop in equities that leads to “margin-driven gold liquidation.” They noted, however, that rules by Beijing allowing Chinese insurers to acquire gold may limit declines.
