Goldman Sachs Gets Gold Fever: $5,400 by 2026? You Won’t Believe This!

Welcome to the US Crypto News Morning Briefing-your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.

Grab a coffee. The year is still young, but the gold market is already sending a message that long-term assumptions may be getting rewritten faster than my attempts at a New Year’s resolution.

Crypto News of the Day: Goldman Sachs Raises 2026 Gold Price Target from $4,900 to $5,400

Gold has barely made it through the first month of 2026, yet Goldman Sachs is already growing more confident that the rally has further to run. I mean, who needs a crystal ball when you have Wall Street’s finest throwing around numbers like confetti?

With spot gold trading around $4,827 at the time of writing-just enough to make your wallet cry-Goldman has raised its year-end 2026 gold price forecast to a shiny $5,400 per ounce. Because why not add a few hundred bucks in January?

GOLD PRICE FORECAST FOR DEC 2026 RAISED $500 BY GOLDMAN SACHS TO $5,400/OZ

– *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) January 22, 2026

Indeed, the revision comes just weeks into the new year. It’s almost as if they woke up one morning and decided, “Hey, let’s throw caution to the wind and increase our gold target!” Barely a month after analysts and crypto commentators were quoting Goldman’s previous prediction, which was lower than my last attempt at making a soufflé.

Before this revision, Goldman Sachs had forecast the gold price to reach $4,900 in 2026. So, a 10% raise only weeks after their last prediction? Talk about a plot twist worthy of daytime television.

Since then, prices have surged faster than my morning caffeine jitters. It has forced institutions to reassess both the pace and durability of gold’s ascent. Because nothing says “we need to rethink our strategy” quite like the price of gold skyrocketing.

According to Goldman Sachs, the catalyst for the revised forecast is intensifying competition for a finite pool of physical bullion. Ah yes, nothing like a good old-fashioned gold rush to get the blood pumping.

“The rally has accelerated since 2025 because central banks started competing for limited bullion with private sector investors,” Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note cited by Business Insider. Sounds like a fancy way of saying, “Everyone wants a piece of the gold pie.”

The bank’s analysts say the shift marks a meaningful evolution from the 2023-2024 period, when official-sector buying alone underpinned much of gold’s upside. Now, it’s like a competitive sport, and everyone wants to be the MVP.

They expect central banks to purchase an average of 60 metric tons of gold per month in 2026. This would be driven by emerging markets diversifying their reserves away from traditional fiat exposure, aka, they’re trying to hedge against their own economic decisions.

Goldman’s analysts, including Daan Struyven and Lina Thomas (and yes, I’m sure they have very important meetings), estimate that central banks will account for the bulk of gold’s projected gains, with private-sector demand adding incremental upside. Because who doesn’t love a little extra on the side?

Private Investors Enter the Frame as Gold’s Structural Bull Case Hardens

Private investors, however, are now playing an increasingly important role. Goldman highlighted three forces as investors seek hedges against macroeconomic and geopolitical risk:

• Rising inflows into gold-backed ETFs (exchange-traded funds).
• Increased physical buying by high-net-worth families, and
• Demand for call options. Because why not bet on the shiny stuff?

“It’s just three weeks into 2026, and Goldman Sachs analysts already increased their year-end price target for gold… because the key upside risk we have flagged – private sector diversification into gold – has started to realize,” commented Lisa Abramowicz. Sounds like a meeting of the gold enthusiasts club!

Some analysts argue that prices may already justify the bank’s optimism, as the precious metal is outperforming Bitcoin and oil. Who knew gold could be the star of the show?

The alignment between institutional forecasts and proprietary models (gold’s fundamental value) further fuels bullish sentiment. It’s like a match made in financial heaven.

Goldman Sachs has also pushed back against the idea that rising prices will naturally curb demand. In its report, the bank stressed that “high prices won’t cure high prices” for gold, noting that new mine supply adds only about 1% to the global stock each year. So, don’t hold your breath on that gold supply flooding the market anytime soon.

Because most gold already exists and changes hands, XAU price gains typically stall only when demand weakens. Based on this, they cite:

• Easing geopolitical tensions
• Reduced reserve diversification, or
• A shift by the Federal Reserve from cutting rates to tightening policy. In other words, don’t count on that happening anytime soon.

For now, none of those conditions appears imminent. Gold is up roughly 11% year-to-date and has more than doubled since early 2023. If this keeps up, I might just have to start wearing gold-plated everything.

With prices already pressing against the psychologically important $5,000 level, Goldman’s early-year upgrade suggests a growing institutional belief that gold’s structural bull market remains firmly intact. It’s like they’re placing bets on the golden goose laying more eggs.

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2026-01-22 19:38