An worker handles one kilogram gold bullions on the YLG Bullion Worldwide Co. headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023.
Chalinee Thirasupa | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs
Gold costs continued to hover close to file highs days after Center East tensions flared, boosting the safe-haven enchantment of bullion.
Gold costs notched one other file shut Monday, with the most-active June contract for gold futures buying and selling 0.37% larger to settle at $2,383 per ounce, and a few say there’s extra room to run.
“The recent gold rally has been aided by geopolitical heat and is coinciding with record equity index levels,” Citi wrote in a notice dated April 15.
Demand for the safe-haven asset grew amid escalating tensions within the Center East after Iran fired over 300 drones and missiles directly at Israel — most of which have been intercepted, due to Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.
Market watchers are intently monitoring a potential retaliation by the Jewish state, which has vowed to “exact a price” from Iran.
A major retaliation might result in a wider battle, which might consequently set off renewed shopping for of gold, in addition to a rally in oil costs and strengthening of the U.S. greenback, stated Bartosz Sawicki, market analyst at monetary companies agency Conotoxia fintech.
We venture $3,000/oz gold over the subsequent 6-18m.
Gold costs because the begin of the yr
Regardless of that, analysts stay bullish on the yellow metallic’s outlook, boosted by continued bodily demand in addition to its enchantment as a geopolitical hedge.
“We project $3,000/oz gold over the next 6-18m,” stated Citi’s analysts led by Aakash Doshi, Citi’s North America head of commodities analysis. The monetary gold “price floor” has additionally moved larger from round $1,000 to $2,000 per ounce, Citi stated.
On Friday, Goldman Sachs referred to the gold market as an “unshakeable bull market” and revised upward its worth goal for the yellow metallic from $2,300 per ounce to $2,700 by the tip of the yr.
— CNBC’s Gina Francolla contributed to this report.