Jan 22 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs has raised its end-2026 gold price forecast to $5,400 per ounce from $4,900/oz earlier, noting private-sector and emerging market central banks' diversification into gold.
Spot gold XAU= climbed to a peak of $4,887.82 per ounce on Wednesday. The safe‑haven metal has climbed more than 11% so far in 2026, extending a blistering rally that saw it jump 64% last year.
"We assume private sector diversification buyers, whose purchases hedge global policy risks and have driven the upside surprise to our price forecast, don't liquidate their gold holdings in 2026, effectively lifting the starting point of our price forecast," the brokerage said in a note dated Wednesday.
The brokerage also expects central bank buying to average 60 tonnes in 2026 as emerging market central banks are likely to continue diversification of their reserves into gold.
Commerzbank, last week, raised its gold price forecast to $4,900 by the end of this year, citing increased safe-haven demand.
Following is a list of analysts' latest gold price forecasts (in $ per ounce):
Brokerage/Agency | Annual Price Forecast | Price Targets | Forecast as of |
| 2026 |
|
|
Goldman Sachs | - | $5,400 by December 2026 | January 22, 2026 |
Morgan Stanley | $4,400 | $4,500 by mid-2026 | October 31, 2025 |
Citi Research | $5,000 | Raises 0-3 month price target to $5,000 | January 13, 2026 |
JP Morgan | $4,753 | Expects prices reaching an average of $5,055/oz by 4Q26 | October 23, 2025 |
HSBC | $4,587 | $4,450 per ounce by year-end 2026 | January 8, 2026 |
ANZ | $4,445 | $4,400 by year-end and $4,600 by June 2026 | October 16, 2025 |
Bank of America | $4,438 | 2026 gold outlook raised to $5,000 | October 13, 2025 |
Societe Generale | $4,716 | $5,000 by the end of 2026 | October 13, 2025 |
Standard Chartered | $4,488 | - | October 13, 2025 |
Commerzbank | $4,900 | $4,800 by mid-2026 | January 13, 2026 |
Deutsche Bank | $4,450 | Yearly range from $3,950-$4,950/oz in 2026 | November 26, 2025 |
UBS | $3,825 | Decline in real rates, potentially into negative territory, could push gold towards $4,700 | October 16, 2025 |
*end-of-period forecasts