Gold continues to excel in 2026.. What will the price of the yellow metal be next year?

Reaching mid-December 2025, gold is about to end the last month of the year with gains of 60%, its best annual performance since 1979.

The year 2025 has become the second year in a row in which the yellow metal’s gains exceed the returns of Stocksand bonds, continuing to outperform bonds for 10 consecutive years.

Continuing the outperformance

says Rajat Bhattacharya, chief investment strategist at Bank "Standard Chartered" The Briton said that the record demand for gold, driven by geopolitical uncertainty and fears about easing financial policies globally, has raised the price of the precious metal by more than 50% this year, and by more than 150% over the past three years, adding that he has a firm conviction that gold will outperform global stocks and bonds again in 2026. Also, do not be overly optimistic, as Bhattacharya expects the average price of gold to reach 4500 $per ounce over the next 12 months.

Gold Price Forecast 2026

At the same time, the number of analysts who expect gold prices to reach $5,000 per ounce next year is increasing. But that would only represent a 16% rise, which is much lower than the rise seen this year, and the 27% expected in 2024.

Carsten Fritsch, commodities analyst at "Commerzbank" The German said that gold prices have doubled since February 2024, pointing out that the current pace of gold’s rise is unsustainable. The German Bank expects gold prices to rise to $4,400 per ounce next year.

As for Chantelle Schiffen, head of the research department at "Capitalite Research"She remains optimistic about gold until 2026, but added that skepticism about its path and momentum is healthy.

Shevin said: "Gold has had an excellent couple of years, so it makes sense to wonder if this momentum will continue. Gold may be in a bubble, but that doesn’t mean it will explode next year. We continue to see a seismic shift in global financial markets that supports higher gold prices in the long term. I think we could easily see the price of gold reach $5,000 an ounce in 2026."

Positive Momentum

In an interview with the website "Kitco News"said Akash Doshi, chief gold strategist at the company "State Street" For Investment Management, he expects gold prices to stabilize between $4,400 and $4,500 per ounce next year, but added that momentum is leaning toward the upside.

He said: "It’s pretty clear that the $3,000 level has become the new $2,000 level, and now we’re starting to see $4,000 as the new $3,000 level. With this strong support, I believe gold’s next 25% move will remain bullish, not bearish."

On the other hand, Michael Widmer, Head of the Minerals Research Department at… "Bank of America"In his annual Forecast webinar, gold price spikes typically only peak when the underlying factors that initially drove the rally fade away, and do not end simply because prices rise.

The official forecast for "Bank of America" The average price of gold will reach $4,538 per ounce, and the market will reach a record level of $5,000 in 2026.

Central banks will continue to demand

Since late 2022, gold prices have witnessed a significant rise, supported by strong demand from Central banks. More than 3,000 tons of gold have flowed into official global reserves over the past three years. Although the official numbers for 2025 have not yet been approved, World Gold Council analysts expect central banks’ gold reserves to rise between 750 and 900 tons this year.

The year 2025 witnessed a historic milestone in the demand for gold by central banks, as official gold reserves exceeded holdings of US Treasury bonds. And according to"Bank of America"Gold currently represents approximately 15% of total central bank reserves. However, expectations are that reserves will be optimally exploited with an average allocation to gold of close to 30%.

Although central bank demand will continue to provide a floor for the gold market, some analysts say next year will be the year of the individual investor.

Expected interest rate cuts next year, coupled with higher inflation, will push more investors out of bonds and into gold, she expects gold to play an increasingly important role as an instrument. To diversify the investment portfolio in 2026, as US stock markets and bond prices are still closely linked.

She said in her 2026 forecast report: "If correlations between stocks and bonds remain historically high, gold’s role as a diversifier and risk hedge becomes more important as investors seek alternatives to traditional 60/40 or 70/30 portfolios.".

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