Gold buyers set for another attack at 3,000 level

On Friday, gold prices rose above the most important level of $3,000 per ounce for the first time ever. It seems that after reaching the long-awaited target, holders of long positions preferred to lock in profits, and the price could not maintain at the new record level. At the same time, the pullback was not strong, implying that there are still good chances for another attempt to consolidate above 3,000. The medium-term uptrend is in favor of the yellow metal buyers.

67% of traders surveyed by Kitco News expect the gold price to keep rising this week. Meetings of several financial regulators — the US Fed, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England — may be a good reason for this. In all three cases, interest rates are not expected to change, and the focus will be on officials' comments and updated economic forecasts. Many investors are likely to choose precious metals as a protection against increased volatility.

Ahead of central bank meetings, RBC analysts have updated their outlook for gold. The metal's average price in 2025 may no longer be $2,823, but $2,844 per ounce. At the same time, by the year-end the prices may reach $3,300, especially if the US economy goes into recession. According to RBC experts, trade tariffs imposed by the US authorities have already been factored into the current gold price, but the same cannot be said about the rising interest of retail investors.

This trend is clearly illustrated by the World Gold Council (WGC) report on the Chinese market for February. Over the past month, people in China invested a record 14 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the yellow metal. Total amount of assets in these ETFs jumped by almost 20% to 131 tons. The People's Bank of China was not left behind and bought 5 tons of gold for the second month in a row.

The Stochastic indicator has not yet given a reversal signal, allowing further price growth. The bulls' next target may be the level of 3,040.

Consider the following trading strategy:

Buy gold at the current price. Take profit – 3,040. Stop loss – 2,955.