(Kitco News) - Gold could be on pace to hit $2,000 next week as the precious metal sees significant bullish sentiment and extraordinary safe-haven demand due to Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine, which has entered its second week.
The latest Kitco News Weekly Gold Survey, shows that all Wall Street analysts surveyed are bullish on gold next week. A strong majority of retail investors also expect to see higher prices in the near term.
"If gold can't get to $2,000 in this environment with so much risk and uncertainty, then I don't know what would do it," said Sean Lusk, co-director of commercial hedging with Walsh Trading.
Lusk said that he could see gold prices rising 10% from their 2021 closing price. In the current environment, that would create an initial target of around $2,010 an ounce, he added.
This week 14 Wall Street analysts participated in Kitco News' gold survey, who all said they see higher prices in the near term.
Meanwhile, 1,013 votes were cast in online Main Street polls. Of these, 714 respondents, or 70%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 166, or 16%, said lower, while 113 voters, or 13%, were neutral in the near term.
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70%16%The solid bullish sentiment comes as the gold market ends the week with significant gains. April gold futures last traded at $1,965.60 an ounce, up 4% from last week. Analysts note that safe-haven demand for gold, driven by the growing conflict in Eastern Europe, is dominating the price action, with investors ignoring positive economic data.
The rally in gold comes after the U.S. economy created 678,000 jobs in February. At the same time, the latest nonfarm payrolls report showed that the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%.
"With everything that is going on in the world, it only makes sense to be bullish gold at this time. It doesn't matter what the fundamentals or technicals are. The fact the U.S. dollar index continues to strengthen certainly means nothing," said Darin Newsom, president of Darin Newsom Analysis. "This is just one of those times when we throw everything we usually use to understand markets out the window."
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Adrian Day, president of Adrian Day Asset Management, said that he is also bullish on gold in the near term, despite the fact the Federal Reserve remains on track to raise interest rates in less than two weeks.
"So long as the war in Ukraine continues, gold will be strong," he said. "It eclipses monetary issues for now."
Although gold prices are expected to push higher next week, investors still need to be careful at these elevated levels. Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures, said investors shouldn't chase the market.
"With all this volatility, you should see some buying opportunities," he said.
He added that with gold so hot, investors might want to look at silver as it has underperformed against gold.
