Get the latest market trends in your inbox
Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with the Axios Markets newsletter. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Minneapolis-St. Paul
Tampa-St. Petersburg news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa-St. Petersburg
Gold prices closed at a record high, above $2,000 an ounce, on Tuesday and investors are getting even more bullish.
What happened: Bank of America released the summary of a call between its chief investment strategist and heads of its commodities, rates and technical strategy teams Tuesday that concluded gold was very well supported and could rise as high as $3,000 per ounce in the next 18 months.
The big picture: Globally, central banks and governments have announced $20 trillion of monetary and fiscal stimulus — $8 trillion of monetary and $12 trillion of fiscal, a number that represents around 20% of global GDP, they note.
- "It's just astonishing and breathtaking and you have to sort of pinch yourself sometimes to sort of realize that it's actually happening," Michael Hartnett, BofA's chief investment strategist, said.
- Central banks also are likely to continue to buy gold, helping underpin the price going forward, said metals strategist Michael Widmer.
The intrigue: The path for gold is also likely intertwined with the value of the dollar and U.S. real interest rates.
- For gold to reach $2,500 an ounce Widmer predicts the dollar index would need to fall to near its 2018 low with real rates at -2% (nominal rates minus the rate of inflation).
- But he could also see a scenario in which the dollar falls to its lowest since 2014 with real rates at -1.5%.
Between the lines: Escalating geopolitical tensions around the globe are also boosting safe-haven appetite for gold.
- Two large explosions that rocked Beirut, killing dozens and leaving thousands wounded, “probably (added) to the shine of Gold above $2020,” strategists at Mizuho Bank said a note.
The bottom line: "The global pandemic is providing a sustained boost to gold due to increased savings, growing inequality, vast capital destruction, declining productivity, rising public debt levels, and, most importantly, falling equilibrium real interest rates," BofA analysts concluded.
- "In addition, we believe that a clouded geopolitical chessboard further supports the case for our $3,000/oz forecast over the next 18 months."