These Two Financial Giants Differ on Gold

On Monday, gold and silver futures remained mostly flat, as the New York Stock Exchange was closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. However, some major firms on Wall Street created minor buzz over the precious metals.

Analysts at Citigroup (NYSE:C) cut their 2013 price target on gold to $1,675 an ounce, down 4.2 percent. Next year, the bank predicts gold prices to trade even lower at $1,653 per ounce.

Citigroup explains in a note, “Indeed, gold’s recent struggle to sustain itself beyond the $1,800 technical resistance level despite seemingly conducive conditions such as record low interest rates and fiscal uncertainty has cast doubt onto the bullish case for gold among the investor community.”

However, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) claims that gold will climb higher over the next three months as Washington D.C. continues to bicker over the debt ceiling and spending issues.

Analysts Damien Courvalin and Alec Philips explain, “We see current prices as a good entry point to re-establish fresh longs. The uncertainty associated with these issues, combined with our economists’ forecast for weak U.S. GDP growth in the first half of 2013 following the negative impact of higher taxes will push gold.” Goldman has a three-month price target of $1,825 per ounce.

Year-to-date, shares of the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) have edged slightly higher, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) has gained almost 5 percent.

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