Veteran analyst issues surprise gold price target for 2026

Gold just hit another record, and the shiny yellow metal's epic run is forcing Wall Street to move the goalposts again. 

Ed Yardeni, whose calls on gold have proven remarkably prescient, just issued a massive new price target for the coming year.

For perspective, gold prices surpassed the $4,500/oz. milestone in late December, according to Reuters, surging over 70% year to date (its strongest performance since 1979).

Now, Yardeni feels investors should brace for even higher levels in 2026, raising his firm’s year-end 2026 price target on gold to $6,000 an ounce, pitting it at the top end of an already bullish punditry.

Yardeni points to the same drivers that continue driving the safe-haven asset to new highs. 

However, despite posting multiple highs this year and crushing prior forecasts, Yardeni believes the forces leading it higher are still building at an impressive pace.

Why Yardeni still moves markets

Ed Yardeni is one of the most popular Wall Street economists of all time, spearheading Yardeni Research.

The firm publishes market strategies, economic analyses, and asset allocation recommendations. 

Before founding the firm in 2007, Yardeni held multiple senior roles, including chief economist and/or investment strategist, at prominent institutions such as EF Hutton, Prudential-Bache/C.J. Lawrence, and Deutsche Bank’s U.S. stock market division. 

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Over the years, Yardeni has made several prescient market calls, but four that have followed him around over the years include:

• “Dow 5,000” (first made May 1990): He pegged the level for 1993, and by 1995 the Dow hit 5,000.
• “Dow 10,000 by 2000”: The Dow surged to 10,000 on March 29, 1999, ahead of schedule.
• Gold call that aged well: Yardeni Research has flagged that gold would top $4,000 by the end of 2025, and it has since surpassed that level, leading to more aggressive targets.
• 2007 pre-crisis positioning: Yardeni stated at the time that subprime risk was building up, and recommended an underweight position in financials.

A new high bar for gold in 2026

Yardeni Research continues to raise its gold targets, primarily because the market’s been hitting them early.

Its latest 2026 gold price target is at $6,000 an ounce, up substantially from previous  milestones of $4,000 and $5,000. 

Additionally, Yardeni predicts $10,000 by the end of the decade, CNBC reported, suggesting that the trend itself has effectively altered expectations.

Gold’s momentum is impossible to miss, and ETF money is making that crystal clear.

Related: Cathie Wood drops $8.9 million on energy stock

For more color, the World Gold Council data show that physically backed gold ETFs posted their sixth consecutive monthly inflow in November, adding an eyebrow-raising $5.2 billion, according to Bloomberg. 

Moreover, World Gold Council noted that total ETF assets struck a record $530 billion, with holdings jumping to a whopping 3,932 tonnes, another month-end high.

The drivers all hit simultaneously.

These include safe-haven demand due to geopolitical and trade tensions, markets pricing lower U.S. interest rates, and relentless central-bank buying. 

Specifically, central banks loaded up on 220 tonnes in Q3 and 634 tonnes year to date through Q3. 

According to Yardeni, that beautiful cocktail explains why gold’s run is intact and will continue through 2026.

How Wall Street’s 2026 gold targets stack up

Wall Street’s 2026 gold targets are clustering near the mid-$4,000s, except Yardeni's.

• Goldman Sachs: $4,900/oz. by Dec. 2026
• J.P. Morgan: Gold surging toward $5,000, with $5,055/oz. average by Q4 2026
• Bank of America: $5,000/oz. forecast for 2026
• Morgan Stanley: Sees gold reaching $4,500/oz. by mid-2026 (sluggish gains thereafter)
• Yardeni Research: $6,000/oz. in 2026, nearly 20% higher compared to the most bullish big-bank targets

Gold’s rally isn’t just about fear

Yardeni says bold call on gold prices goes back to early 2024, when they surged past $2,000, and central banks stepping up buying after the U.S. and EU froze Russia’s reserves, as Al Jazeera reported. 

Since then, the tailwinds for gold prices have only multiplied.

Geopolitics have only added fuel to the rally. 

U.S. and Venezuela tensions, as reported by Security Council Report, along with fresh attacks on Russian ports by Ukraine, have added to gold’s safe-haven appeal.

However, Yardeni feels the bigger driver is policy anxiety, along with a growing fear that governments will continue to lean on money printing to manage debt.

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Silver’s parabolic moves underscore that point.

The metal just ripped to a record $70 an ounce on December 23, according to The Economic Times, surging nearly 147% year to date. Robust industrial demand, along with tight supply, pushed prices to record levels. 

Also, Yardeni argues that this is more likely a warning about policy.

Throw in the potential $1,000 to $2,000 household checks that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently floated, and deficits could potentially rise, which is the typical setup gold tends to sniff out early.

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