Gold didn’t generate much excitement among investors on its journey to a record high earlier this week, but the precious metal could see further gains in the upcoming year.
Finishing 2023 at $2,062.40 per troy ounce, gold recorded a 13% increase for the year after reaching a new closing record of $2,081.90 on Wednesday.
According to Fred Hickey, editor of the High-Tech Strategist, Western institutional investors have shown little enthusiasm or interest in gold so far. The SPDR Gold Shares, the largest physical gold exchange-traded fund with approximately $57 billion in assets under management, has remained stagnant at around 878 metric tons since September 2019 when gold was priced at $1,500. Although the ETF’s gold holdings slightly declined during 2023.
Gold’s rally can be attributed to expectations of lower U.S. interest rates and a weakening dollar, currently down about 5% from its October 1 highs. Additionally, the metal received support from China’s central bank, the largest gold buyer in 2023, as well as other central banks.
Central banks have been the primary purchasers of gold this year, accumulating 800 metric tons of the metal in the first three quarters of 2023, as reported by the World Gold Council. This trend is expected to continue as central banks seek alternative assets to diversify their holdings away from the dollar and other paper currencies.
For gold bulls, the lack of demand from individual investors and institutional buyers is seen as a positive signal because the market has rallied without their participation. If they were to enter the market, it is believed that gold could potentially increase its recent gains.