Bullish sentiment continues to return to the gold market, but despite the potential for price growth, Wall Street analysts, as well as retail investors on Main Street, do not expect a significant breakout.
According to the weekly gold survey, market analysts are somewhat more cautious about gold than retail investors.
Daniel Pavilonis, senior market strategist at RJO Futures, said that regardless of inflation data continuing to support gold prices, investors should exercise caution, and there are good reasons for that.
Many investors are on the sidelines, awaiting actions from the Federal Reserve. Once it becomes clear that the Fed will stop raising interest rates, gold could easily soar.
Many analysts are optimistic about the precious metal as the U.S. dollar experiences its sharpest decline since November.
Last week, 20 Wall Street analysts participated in a gold survey. Nine analysts, or 45%, were optimistic or neutral about the precious metal for the current week. Only two analysts, or 10%, were bearish.
In online surveys, there were 592 votes. Of those, 363 respondents, or 61%, expected price growth, while 148, or 25%, voted for a decline. And 81, or 14%, expressed a neutral stance.
Among retail investors, bullish sentiment has risen to a monthly high. However, even Main Street investors are skeptical of gold surging above $1,979 per ounce. According to James Stanley, market strategist at StoneX, gold prices may only test resistance at the $1,980 level. But once the Federal Reserve stops raising interest rates, investors will turn to gold as a safe haven or geopolitical hedge.