Goldman Sachs commodity analysts have been saying for weeks that gold will reach $1,050 an ounce by year-end.
But they apparently have a higher target for the near term.
In a report obtained by Barron's, Goldman strategists say the $1,200 level represents "a good estimate of the floor price for gold."
Gold futures for December delivery rose 1 percent to settle at $1,305.30 an ounce late Friday on the Comex in New York, the biggest gain for a most-active contract since July 17. The metal Thursday touched $1,289.40, the lowest since June 19. A move to $1,200 would represent about an 8 percent fall from Friday's level, and a move to $1,050 would constitute a 20 percent drop.
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Goldman analysts see $1,200 as the downside limit for now, because it represents the 90th percentile of all-in sustaining costs in the gold-mining sector. That means it's the level below which more producers must consider cutting their gold production.
And a cut in output, of course, gives support to gold prices. So declines below $1,200 will "generally [be] short-lived, [except in] times of extreme declines in demand," the Goldman analysts say.
Apparently they expect demand to plummet later this year, given the $1,050 target.
Gold rebounded from a five-week low Friday amid the intense turmoil in Ukraine and the Mideast. That sent investors scurrying to safe-haven assets.
"When you see schools shelled in Gaza and heavy artillery fire from Russia and Ukraine, people are very nervous, and you can’t blame them,"
Peter Thomas, a senior vice president at Zaner Group, told Bloomberg. "People are going to buy gold."
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