Goldman Sachs(US:GS) Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-12-19 00:11Precious Metals Futures - Goldman Sachs predicts that gold prices will rise by 14% to $4,900 per ounce by December 2026, with potential upside risks [1] - On December 19, New York futures gold prices rose, breaking through $4,380 per ounce (up 0.14%), $4,390 per ounce (up 0.37%), and ultimately surpassing $4,400 per ounce, with a daily increase of 0.60% [2][3][4] - Spot gold also increased, breaking through $4,350 per ounce (up 0.29%), $4,360 per ounce (up 0.55%), and further rising to $4,370 per ounce, with a daily increase of 0.74% [5][6][7] - However, on December 18, precious metal prices experienced a pullback, with New York futures gold falling below $4,340 per ounce (down 0.78%) and spot gold below $4,310 per ounce (down 0.65%) [8][9] - Silver showed weaker performance, with New York futures silver falling below $65 per ounce (down 2.85%) and spot silver also below $65 per ounce (down 1.84%) [10][11] Base Metals Futures - Goldman Sachs reaffirms that copper prices will reach $15,000 per ton by 2035 and continues to recommend a long position in copper and a short position in aluminum for contracts expiring in December 2027 [12] Energy and Shipping Futures - In the energy market, U.S. natural gas futures prices fell over 3.00% on December 19, currently reported at $3.233 per million British thermal units, with the decline expanding to 4.00%, now at $3.199 per million British thermal units [14][15] - The EIA natural gas report shows that as of the week ending December 12, U.S. natural gas inventories totaled 35,790 billion cubic feet, a decrease of 1,670 billion cubic feet from the previous week and down 610 billion cubic feet year-on-year (a 1.7% decline), while being 320 billion cubic feet above the 5-year average (a 0.9% increase) [16] - Goldman Sachs predicts that by 2026, the average price of Brent crude oil and West Texas Intermediate crude oil will drop to $56 and $52 per barrel, respectively [17] Macroeconomic and Market Impact - The European Central Bank's policy direction is under scrutiny, with several officials indicating that the rate-cutting cycle is likely over, maintaining deposit rates at around 2% unless a significant shock occurs; however, discussions on rate hikes are considered "premature" [18][19] - The ECB also forecasts that inflation rates will be below 2% in the first quarter of 2026 and from the third quarter of 2026 to the fourth quarter of 2027 [20] - In the U.S., concerns about premature significant rate cuts were expressed, while the White House's National Economic Council director believes there is substantial room for rate cuts by the Federal Reserve [21][23] - Several banks have recently lowered U.S. dollar deposit rates, with one bank reporting a decrease of 0.05 percentage points in its latest dollar time deposit rates [24]