Just days after we made the case for $1,950 gold, and just years after our own Greg McCoach called for record gold prices, Goldman Sachs upgraded it's gold price forecast to a range of $1,645 to $1,730, saying:
We had expected gold prices would continue to rise through the middle of 2012, when we expected rising US economic growth would push real rates higher and gold prices lower. However, with our US economics team now lowering their outlook for US economic growth to 1.7% in 2011 and 2.1% in 2012, we now expect real interest rates will remain lower for longer, and we are now raising our gold price forecasts to $1,645/toz, $1,730/toz, and $1,860/toz on a 3, 6, and 12-month horizon, up from our prior forecasts of $1,565/toz, $1,635/toz, and $1,730/toz, respectively. Net, this revision in effect pulls forward the higher prices we expected on a 6 and 12-month horizon – as US economic growth has been slower, and US real interest rates lower, than previously anticipated – and extends the upward trajectory for gold prices through 2012. Further, the recent escalation of sovereign debt concerns suggests that the near-term risk to our new forecast is skewed to the upside, and we continue to recommend long trading positions in gold.
But not to be outdone, JP Morgan upped its forecast to a high of $2,500...
"Gold and sugar have potential to run a lot higher. It has been clear for weeks that the prompt CMX gold price has been building in a rising probability of a reflaring of financial crisis, gaining by 9.7% since June 30 as the MSCI World Equity index dropped by 10.1%. The correlation in daily price changes between these two assets has dropped to –0.09 from +0.29 over the prior year. Gold’s correlation against TIPS has doubled to 0.35 from 0.18. Against Italian and Spanish 5-year sovereign CDS prices, the gold correlation has moved to 0.27 and 0.32, from 0.07 and 0.04, respectively. Before the downgrade, our view was that cash gold could average $1800 per oz by year end. This view will likely now prove to be too conservative: spot gold could drive to $2500 per oz or higher, albeit on very high volatility."
And it's probably only a matter of time before even more banks jump on the bandwagon.
$3,000 any one?
Again, though, none of this should come as a great shock. Our own Greg McCoach was predicting record gold prices long before any one else. Just watch this video for proof...
