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Goldman sees gold at $4,900 by December 2026, projects oil price decline; copper remains favoured industrial metal

Sources: Investing

Published: 19/12/2025

, 3:17 pm

Dec 18 (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs sees gold prices climbing 14% to $4,900 per ounce by December 2026 in its base case, it said in a note on Thursday, while citing upside risks to this view due to a potential broadening of diversification to private investors.

In a note in which the bank discussed its views on commodities for 2026, Goldman Sachs said it expects structurally high central bank demand and cyclical support from U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts to lift the price of gold. It continues to recommend long exposure in the yellow metal. 

Spot gold was trading at $4,334.93 per ounce at 1824 GMT on Thursday.

The bank also forecast the price of copper to consolidate in 2026 and average $11,400 per metric ton under its base case that uncertainty over tariffs will linger until a possible announcement in mid-2026 that the U.S. will implement tariffs on refined copper in 2027.

“Despite the recent rally in copper prices and our expected consolidation in 2026, it remains our ’favorite’ industrial metal, especially in the long-run, as electrification – which drives nearly half of copper demand – implies structurally strong demand growth and as copper mine supply faces unique constraints,” Goldman noted.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was little changed at $11,721.50 per metric ton as of 1723 GMT on Thursday. It hit a record high of $11,952 last week.

The bank forecast Brent and WTI crude oil to decline further to 2026 averages of $56 per barrel and $52 per barrel, respectively.

Goldman Sachs said it expects U.S. power spare capacity to decline further as rapid power demand growth and coal retirements outweigh renewable and natural gas power builds.

“As a result, US power markets are at risk of significantly higher prices and even outages. This risk is particularly acute in local power markets where data centers are booming, with 72% of all US datacenters sitting in 1% of US counties,” it added.

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