Goldman Sachs predicts gold prices will not reach $3,000 this year as rate cut bets fade

Goldman Sachs Group said it does not expect gold prices to reach $3,000 an ounce by the end of this year, and postponed this forecast to mid-2026 as the market expects the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rate cuts. Goldman Sachs analysts Lina Thomas and Dan Struven, among others, expect gold prices to hit $2,910 an ounce by the end of the year. Driven by the easing of uncertainty after the US election, ETF liquidity was weaker than expected in December last year, which also led to a low starting point for pricing in the new year. Analysts said: "The decline in speculative demand and the increase in central bank gold purchases have effectively offset each other, keeping gold prices in a range in the past few months. Central bank gold purchases will remain a key driver of long-term gold prices. Looking ahead, we expect average monthly purchases to reach 38 tons by mid-2026." (Jin Shi)