Gold Price Eyes $5,200 Mark, JPMorgan and Other Institutions Remain Firmly Bullish

TradingKey - 8:00 PM ET, Gold prices (XAUUSD) closed at $5,190 per ounce, attempting to break through $5,200, influenced by JPMorgan Chase (JPM) raising its long-term gold price forecast. On Wednesday, the bank increased its long-term gold price expectation to $4,500 per ounce while keeping its year-end 2026 target of $6,300 unchanged, as gold prices stabilized in the $5,100–$5,200 range.

Spot gold has risen approximately 20% year-to-date, hitting a three-week high of $5,248.89 per ounce on Tuesday and trading near $5,200 on Wednesday. Previously, gold prices reached an all-time high of $5,594.82 per ounce on January 29.

This trend continues the strong gain of over 64% seen in 2025. As a globally recognized safe-haven asset, gold continues to attract capital inflows amid geopolitical tensions, shifts in monetary policy, and heightened macroeconomic uncertainty.

On Wednesday, the bank reiterated its long-term bullish stance on gold, stating that the structural allocation trend by institutions and investors will persist and that current prices still have upside potential. JPMorgan further noted that demand from central banks and private investors in 2025 is sufficient to continue driving gold prices higher in the near term, eventually reaching $6,300 per ounce by the end of 2026.

Current factors influencing gold prices include the following:

• Escalating geopolitical risks
• The Federal Reserve's pivot to a rate-cutting cycle
• Continued gold purchases by central banks and inflows into gold ETFs

In a low-interest-rate environment, although gold does not generate interest, its role as a hedge against currency devaluation makes it an increasingly popular "non-yielding alternative" to interest-bearing assets like U.S. Treasuries and money market funds, further strengthening its upward momentum.

Meanwhile, Bank of America (BAC) forecast in its latest report that gold prices could rise to $6,000 per ounce over the next 12 months.

The bank also noted that silver (XAGUSD) may face pullback pressure in the short term but still has the potential to return above $100 per ounce this year.

During Wednesday's U.S. trading session, spot silver was quoted at approximately $90.70 per ounce, pulling back significantly from the record high of $121.64 per ounce set in late January.