What: Economists at the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) have today published a major new study into the gold market.
So what: Amongst the conclusions drawn by the bank are that the gold price could exceed US$2,400 per ounce by 2030 thanks to "the liberalisation of Asia's financial system and growing wealth of its populations."
This scenario is expected to lead to Asian central banks increasing their stockpiles of physical gold, professional money managers across Asia increasingly looking to gold as a store of value and higher per capital wealth leading to increased consumer demand for jewellery made from the precious metal.
A higher gold price which is expected to be accompanied by a doubling in demand for gold volumes from 10 of Asia's leading economies could be great news for top Australian gold producers including Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM), Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST).
Now what: ANZ remains slightly bearish on the near term outlook for the gold price with the bank forecasting a short term target of US$1,100, but obviously it has a longer-term bullish outlook.
The timeframe which ANZ is proposing for a rally in the gold price to US$2,400 would suggest that investors in the gold mining sector need to think carefully about the timing of their stock purchases. They should also assess the financial health of investees' balance sheets to make sure miners can sustain the current price levels for the time being.
