The gold price continues to hold above the $3,300 per ounce mark, even though it has been moving sideways for quite some time now. Analysts, however, believe that this consolidation will soon end and gold will move upwards again in light of ongoing economic uncertainty.
The analysts at Société Générale, for example, believe that the precious metal will soon benefit from continued central bank demand, as well as interest in gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and speculative positioning.
Speculators Expected to Bet more Heavily on Gold Again
The latter is particularly interesting, as asset managers are now returning to the market after eight months of declining positions, as reported by Kitco News, among others. This had previously led bets on rising gold prices to their lowest level in a year. Many investors had obviously taken profits after Gold reached an all-time high of more than $3,500 per ounce in April.
Demand for gold-backed ETFs has also fluctuated greatly recently. For the first time in five months, net outflows were recorded in May. In the long term, however, Société Générale believes that demand is well supported, as geopolitical and economic uncertainty, partly due to US tariff policy, continues to persist. The experts also believe that a normalization of the situation is very unlikely in the foreseeable future.
Moreover, while ETF gold demand has increased significantly in 2025, it remains well below the record levels of 2020 and even below the value from 2009 during the financial crisis.
Central Banks Will Continue to Buy Gold
And quite apart from that, Société Générale believes that central banks worldwide will continue to expand their gold reserves. Many countries, according to the analysts, still consider diversification away from the US dollar as an important goal.
SocGen had already raised its gold price forecast to $3,300 per ounce on average for the year in the first quarter. The experts were among the first banks to point out that gold also has a realistic chance of rising to $4,000 per ounce.
The analysts are less optimistic about silver, however. Here they consider profit-taking possible as the market already appears “overbought”.
