Gold prices may hit five-year high this year, forecasts Goldman Sachs

New York: Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is leading a pack of bullish voices cheering for gold. The bank’s analysts led by Jeffrey Currie raised their price forecast for gold, predicting that over 12 months the metal will climb to $1,425 an ounce - a level not seen in more than five years. Bullion has benefited as rising geopolitical tensions fuel central bank purchases, while fears of a recession helped boost demand from investors seeking “defensive assets,” they said.

Bullion-backed exchange-traded funds are expanding, with holdings rising to the highest since May. On the Comex, futures have climbed 11 percent to $1,291.70 on Friday, from a low in August. Speculative interest in gold signals investors are not only closing bearish bets but are also adding to bullish positions, Suki Cooper, an analyst at Standard Chartered, said in a note.

Gold is also getting a boost from mounting speculation the Federal Reserve may pause in raising borrowing costs, boosting the appeal of non-interest-bearing metal.

“We expect the safe-haven bid, and to a lesser extent, gold’s inflation hedge properties, to remain key drivers of the metal’s price in 2019, complemented by a resurgence of physical demand,’’ Cantor Fitzgerald analysts led by Mike Kozak said in a report. Gold and silver are ‘‘looking good in 2019,’’ underlining a potentially positive indicators that ‘‘should drive a bullish case” for both metals “and as a result, the related equities as well.’’