Spot gold prices hit an all-time high of $2,940 an ounce this week, within striking distance of the $3,000 which big banks, including Goldman Sachs had forecast. However, Goldman Sachs predicted in a previous report that gold will reach the $3,000 target in the second quarter of 2026.
Spot gold traded at $2,883.36 an ounce before Friday’s close, down 1.54% on the day but up 0.76% for the week.
James Stanley, senior market strategist at Forex.com, said Friday that gold bulls are still firmly in control of the market, so investors have reason to remain bullish on gold. While there is the potential for a larger pullback before spot gold tests $3,000, the bullish case for precious metals remains strong.
Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, noted that gold has had a good run recently and technically should take a pause to consolidate recent gains. Adrian Day, president of Adrian Day Asset Management, said that gold’s momentum remains strong, and probably will go higher next week.
Commerzbank commodities analyst Carsten Fritsch believes that approaching the important $3,000 level is conducive to further price gains. However, it will also increase the potential for a price correction.
Bob Haberkorn, senior commodities broker at RJO Futures, said that while Friday’s retail sales report was a drag on gold prices, talks over a peace deal in Ukraine had already led to weakness. The drop in retail sales increases the likelihood that the Fed won’t cut rates in March, so gold should see a bit of a pullback next week, but not a big sell-off.
This week, of the 14 analysts who attend to Kitco News’ weekly gold survey, 10 experts, or 71 percent, expect gold prices to continue to rise in the coming week, two analysts, or 14 percent, expect prices to fall, and the other two expect prices to consolidate next week.
Meanwhile, in Kitco’s online survey, 131 out of 201 ordinary investors (65 per cent) of retail investors expect gold prices to rise next week, another 48 (24 per cent) expect prices to fall, and the remaining 22 (11 per cent) believe gold will move sideways.
