Gold has been a silent winner as an investment in recent months. As recently as early November, the yellow metal was asking under US$1,650 an ounce. Today, that same ounce of gold will set an investor back around US$1,880. That's a gain worth close to 14% in just over two months
That looks pretty good against ASX shares, seeing as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has 'only' risen by around 4% over the same period.
The high US$1,880s is the most expensive gold has traded at since May last year, making it an 8-month high for the precious metal.
While gold has done well these past two months in particular, ASX gold miners have also captured the gains. Just take Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares. They are up more than 30% since the beginning of November, as you can see below:
We see a similar story with Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) share prices. The diversified VanEck Gold Miners ETF (ASX: GDX) has also risen by roughly 28% since 3 November.
As my Fool colleague Bernd reported last month, the recent rise in the gold price could have something to do with central banks around the world, particularly the People's Bank of China, dramatically boosting their bullion stores.
So after this stellar performance over the back end of 2022, what's next for gold? Will 2023 be even better for gold prices?
Will gold glitter in 2023?
Well, gold is a rather unique asset. Higher demand for the precious metal is often attributed to fears over economic stability, geopolitical tensions and fears over inflation.
As such, gold is often thought of as a defensive or hedging asset. These factors could well influence the yellow metals' pricing this year.
And if central banks continue to increase their appetites for bullion, this could also keep gold prices high.
However, one ASX expert who doesn't think gold has much room for improvement is RBC Capital Markets.
As my Fool colleague Tristan reported on this morning, RBC has just lifted its 2023 price target for gold by 1% to US$1,735, well below the current price of US$1,880.
RBC also predicts that gold will slide down to US$1,700 an ounce by 2024 and as low as US$1,600 over a longer-term horizon.
Probably not exactly what gold bugs would like to hear. But we shall have to wait and see what's really in store for gold going forward.
