Continuing the rebound from last week, Wall Street and individual investors alike expect
gold prices to rise, with hopes for cooling tensions between the United States and Iran.
Last week, global gold prices opened at $4,623 per ounce, briefly topping $4,700 on expectations that tensions in the Middle East would ease, alongside lower U.S. Treasury yields and a softer dollar.
Spot gold ended the week at $4,716 per ounce, after the United States released April jobs data showing payrolls rising by 115,000 and the unemployment rate holding at 4.3%, fueling expectations that the Fed will cut rates sooner rather than later. Weaker consumer sentiment data also supported gold.
Kitco's latest survey of 11 analysts showed 7 (64%) bullish on gold for the week, while only 1 expected a decline. The remaining three analysts, or 27%, predicted a range-bound market.
An online survey of 153 individual investors yielded similar results, with 69% expecting higher prices, 24% neutral, and only 1% bearish.
Forecast for gold prices for the week of 11-15 May. Source: Kitco
Alex Kuptsikevich, senior market analyst at FxPro, expects steady gains in the precious metal on news that tensions between the U.S. and Iran are not escalating. He noted that last week’s rebound recovered from the declines of the previous two weeks, a key indicator of the strength of an upcoming rally. The FxPro analyst said gold could reach or surpass $4,900 this week.
Michael Moor, founder of Moor Analytics, said gold has room to rise if it can hold important near-term support levels. He noted that a move back above around $4,711 would signal renewed buying interest.
In contrast, Darin Newsom, senior market analyst at Barchart, projected a decline. However, he said the long-term uptrend remains intact as long as prices do not breach the $4,533 level set on May 4.
This week, investors will be watching a batch of U.S. economic data such as the CPI, PPI, retail sales, and weekly initial jobless claims to assess the outlook for Fed policy.
