Goldman says case to diversify with gold ‘as strong as ever’

Bloomberg

Goldman Sachs Group Inc said investors should diversify their long-term bond holdings with gold, citing “fear-driven demand” for the precious metal.
“Gold cannot fully replace government bonds in a portfolio, but the case to reallocate a portion of normal bond exposure to gold is as strong as ever,” Goldman analysts including Sabine Schels said. “We still see upside in gold as late cycle concerns and heightened political uncertainty will likely support investment demand” for bullion as a defensive asset.
The precious metal climbed to a six-year high in September as the Federal Reserve cut borrowing costs and the total pile of debt yielding less than zero climbed to a record $17 trillion, boosting the appeal of non-interest bearing gold.
Hedge funds and other large speculators boosted their bullish bets on the precious metal by 8.9% in the week ended December 3, government data showed. That’s the biggest gain since late September.
Gold has fallen more than 6% from the peak to close at $1,460.17 in the spot market.
While Goldman said the correction on bullion prices has further room to run, the bank is still sticking to its forecast prices will climb to $1,600 over the next year.