Wall Street keeps pushing up its already bullish calls on gold as the precious metal climbs to new highs.
Gold (GC=F) futures touched their 17th record of the year on Thursday, climbing just north of $3,060 after President Donald Trump’s auto tariff announcement stoked further fears of an escalating trade war. A move lower in the US dollar (DX-Y.NYB) index also helped drive prices higher.
Earlier this week, analysts at Bank of America raised their price target on gold to $3,500 per ounce over the coming 18 months from $3,000 previously. The new target is based on the assumption that investments increase 10% through more buying from China and central banks and continued purchases of physically backed ETFs.
“Uncertainty around Trump administration trade policies could continue to push the USD lower, further supporting gold prices near-term. In our view, a broad rebalancing of America’s twin deficits could be bullish gold too,” wrote the analysts.
A “confluence of factors, mostly driven by the Trump administration’s economic policy mix, have pushed investors to increase their allocations to the yellow metal,” the analysts wrote.
BofA’s call follows a similar forecast from Macquarie Group, which recently predicted the precious metal will touch $3,500 in the third quarter of this year.
The precious metal’s more than 14% rally year-to-date has even prompted JPMorgan analysts to question whether a price of $4,000 is a possibility.
The firm’s researchers noted the commodity’s price move from $2,500 to $3,000 occurred in just 210 days, significantly faster than previous $500 increments, which have averaged over 1,700 days.
JPMorgan analysts asked in a client note on Wednesday, “With each $1,000 phase taking about two-thirds less time than the previous one, and considering the law of diminishing returns alongside investors’ attraction for round numbers, could the $4,000 mark be just around the corner?”
The analysts said the freezing of Russian foreign assets following the Ukraine war has “triggered a structural change in the demand for gold.” Last year, demand for the precious metal reached an all-time high as central bank purchases accelerated.
“Heading into 2025, gold remained our top bullish pick for a third consecutive year in a row,” the analysts wrote.
Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.
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Source: finance.yahoo.com