Gold prices are expected to reach $4,900 per ounce by December 2026, according to a report released by Goldman Sachs on Thursday. The report also predicts a decrease in oil prices while highlighting copper as their most favored industrial metal. Analysts from France’s Societe Generale Bank also made forecasts for an increase in gold prices.
Goldman Sachs stated in their report that in a base scenario, gold prices are forecasted to rise by 14% to reach $4,900 per ounce by December 2026. The bank also mentioned the potential upward risk in this prediction due to private investors expanding portfolio diversification.
In discussing their outlook on commodities for 2026, Goldman Sachs highlighted the structural high demand from central banks around the world and the cyclical support from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts as factors that will drive gold prices up. The bank continues to recommend holding long positions in gold.
As of 1:24 PM on Thursday Eastern time, the spot gold price stood at $4,334.93 per ounce.
According to a report by Reuters, Societe Generale Bank’s market analysts indicated that they will maintain a 10% gold allocation in their diversified asset portfolio. While keeping their gold allocation stable, the French bank reduced its exposure to US inflation-linked bonds to zero and cut its corporate bond holdings in half to 5%.
The bank’s analysts reiterated their forecast for gold prices to reach $5,000 per ounce by the end of next year.
Retail investors are advised to continue diversifying their investments and to accumulate gold through bars, coins, and ETFs. The analysts recommend buying on dips as non-aligned central banks are expected to further diversify their US dollar assets, and gold can effectively hedge against various risks, including the possibility of a more dovish policy from the Federal Reserve leadership.
The analysts maintained their bullish outlook on gold as they anticipate the Federal Reserve to implement an accommodative monetary policy. Societe Generale Bank stated that they expect pressure on inflation to ease next year but also see increasing risks in the US labor market.
Goldman Sachs also predicted that copper prices will stabilize in 2026, with an average price of $11,400 per ton in the base scenario. The report assumes that tariff uncertainty will persist, and by mid-2026, the US may announce tariffs on refined copper to be imposed in 2027.
Goldman Sachs pointed out, “Despite recent copper price increases and our expectation of copper price stabilization in 2026, copper remains our ‘most favored’ industrial metal, particularly in the long term. Nearly half of copper demand comes from electrification, indicating strong growth in structural demand, and copper supply faces unique constraints.”
As of 12:23 PM on Thursday Eastern time, the London Metal Exchange benchmark 3-month copper price remained relatively steady at $11,721.50 per ton. Copper prices hit a historical high of $11,952 per ton last week.
The bank forecasted further declines in Brent crude and WTI crude oil prices, with average prices expected to be $56 per barrel and $52 per barrel by 2026.
The report added, “Unless there is a significant supply disruption or OPEC production cuts, lower oil prices may be necessary after 2026 to rebalance the market.”
As of 12:11 PM on Thursday Eastern time, Brent crude oil was priced at $60.04 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil was close to $56.46 per barrel. Goldman Sachs anticipates oil prices to bottom out by mid-2026 as the market begins to anticipate supply and demand rebalancing.
The report stated that this will be driven by factors such as robust demand growth of approximately 1.2 million barrels per day, further decreases in Russian supply if the Ukraine conflict and sanctions persist, and a slowdown in non-OPEC (excluding Russia) production growth.
“We believe there is net downside risk to oil price prospects for 2026–2027,” Goldman Sachs noted.
However, the bank indicated that oil prices are expected to rebound in the fourth quarter of next year as the market starts to anticipate supply shortages in the second half of 2027, shifting focus towards stimulating long-term production.
The bank added that by the end of 2028, Brent crude and WTI crude oil prices are projected to gradually recover to $80 per barrel and $76 per barrel, respectively.
Goldman Sachs stated that they expect a further decline in US power reserve capacity due to rapid growth in power demand and the retirement of coal-fired power plants outpacing the construction speed of renewable energy and natural gas generation.
“Therefore, the US electricity market faces a significant risk of price spikes or even blackouts. This risk is particularly pronounced in the electricity markets of burgeoning data center regions, with 72% of US data centers located in just 1% of counties in the US,” the bank added.