The gold industry has been a great place to invest this year. You only need to look at the performance of the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index to see this.
Since the start of the year, this index has risen a massive 26%.
Image source: Getty Images
Why are ASX gold shares rising strongly?
This strong gain has been underpinned by a rising gold price.
Miners are price takers and not price setters, so the performance of the gold price has a major impact on the profitability of companies such as Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN), Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM), Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST), and Regis Resources Ltd (ASX: RRL).
And right now, they are printing money thanks to the sky high gold price.
As a reminder, the spot gold price is currently fetching US$2,029.2 an ounce, which leaves it within a stone's throw of the record high of US$2,069.40 set in 2020.
The big question now, though, is where is the gold price forecast to go from here? Let's find out.
Gold price forecast
According to a recent note out of Goldman Sachs, its commodity team has laid out its forecast for the gold price (and other metals) over the remainder of 2023 and the coming years.
The good news is that the broker is feeling upbeat about the precious metal and sees scope for gold to break records this year.
The note reveals that Goldman is forecasting an average gold price of US$2,008 an ounce for the current quarter.
After which, it expects an average price of US$2,078 an ounce in the third quarter of 2023 and then US$2,108 an ounce in the fourth quarter. This is expected to result in an average price of US$2,021 an ounce for 2023.
But the gains may not stop there according to its commodities team. They have pencilled in an average price of US$2,175 an ounce for 2024. This represents an increase of 5% from current levels.
And while Goldman's gold price forecast predicts an easing back to US$2,087 an ounce in 2025 and then US$2,000 an ounce in 2026, this is still at a very attractive level for gold miners.
All in all, it appears to be a good time to have some exposure to ASX gold shares in your portfolio.
