As investors await potential interest rate cuts later in 2024, the price of precious metals such as gold and silver could surge this year, according to a report by CNBC.
Citing data provided by UBS, CNBC reported the price of gold per ounce could hit $2,200 by the end of the year. Gold per ounce started on Monday at $2,038 per ounce. Its value surged between 2019 and 2021, going from about $1,300 an ounce five years ago to roughly $1,900 an ounce three years ago.
Silver opened Monday being traded at $22.68 per ounce. The price of silver has actually declined slightly since the onset of the pandemic after undergoing a major spike in the middle of 2020.
Silver prices surged in the years following the great recession, reaching highs of $45 per ounce in 2012.
Upcoming changes to interest rates, currently at a 23-year high, could reflect major changes in gold and silver prices, an analyst told CNBC.
US job market remains strong despite recent layoff announcements
Despite several massive rounds of layoffs, the U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs, keeping unemployment below 4% for 24 straight months.
Investors say high interest rates make the dollar stronger, which increases demand for the U.S. dollar and reduces the demand for precious metals. When interest rates relax, investors seek precious metals, especially one like gold, raising gold's demand.
“We are expecting gold to be pushed higher by a Fed easing. Also this comes with a weaker dollar,” said UBS’ precious metals strategist Joni Teves.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has forecast that federal interest rates will come down later this year. The Fed increased interest rates in hopes of combating inflation.
For investors, the S&P 500 has far outpaced the value of gold since 2019. The S&P 500 has grown by 82% in the last five years, while gold's value has gone up 54%.
