According to Wisdom Financial APP, on Friday, international gold prices rose sharply, and gold futures and spot prices both set new record highs. Data showed that COMEX gold rose 1.76% to $2349.1 per ounce; London spot gold rose 1.77% to $2329.57 per ounce.
Meanwhile, as gold prices continue to climb, hedge funds and fund managers' bullish bets on gold have reached their highest level in four years. Hedge funds' and fund managers' net long positions in U.S. gold futures and options soared 13 percent in the week ended April 2, reaching the highest level since 2020, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Johan Palmberg, senior quantitative analyst at the World Gold Council, said the gold OTC and futures markets have been very active, with trading volumes up an estimated 40%. He noted, "Activity in the gold options market has been unusually high compared to stocks and bonds, suggesting that there is particular interest in gold at the moment."
Many analysts expect that once the Federal Reserve begins to cut interest rates, it will stimulate demand from investors who are still on the sidelines, especially for physically backed gold ETFs, which will push gold prices to new record highs again.
In addition, the founder and president of Greenlight Capital (Greenlight Capital), billionaire investor David Einhorn believes that the Federal Reserve will not be able to control inflation, and will be forced to maintain its tight monetary policy for a longer period of time than expected. David Einhorn is reportedly increasing his bets on gold, and Greenlight Capital has been actively buying the SPDR Gold ETF (GLD), the world's largest gold exchange-traded fund.
Einhorn said, "We hold far more gold than just a position in the SPDR Gold ETF, we also hold physical bullion. Gold is one of the very important investments." "There are problems with overall U.S. monetary and fiscal policy. If both policies are too loose, I think the deficit will eventually become a real problem. Investing in gold is a way for us to hedge against the possibility of an unfavorable situation in the future."
Notably, Citi raised its 0-3 month price target for gold by 9% to $2,400 per ounce, and capped its 6-12 month bullish scenario price target for gold to $3,000 per ounce.
