Experts: Gold’s Fundamentals Intact, Price Could Hit US$7,000 in 2026
Gold took center stage at this year’s Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC), coming to the fore in a slew of discussions as the price surged past US$5,000 per ounce.
Held from January 25 to 26, the conference brought together diverse experts, with a focus point being the “Gold Forecast” panel hosted by Daniela Cambone, global media director and lead anchor at ITM Trading.
The panel brought together GoldMining (TSX:GOLD,NYSEAMERICAN:GLDG) CEO and co-founder Alastair Still, Gold Royalty (NYSEAMERICAN:GROY) chair and CEO David Garofalo, Von Greyerz partner Matthew Piepenburg, “Rich Dad Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki and Incrementum partner Ronald-Peter Stöferle for a wide-ranging discussion.
Central banks supporting gold price
Gold’s price gains through 2025 and into early 2026 have been driven by several factors. One of the most impactful has been ongoing purchases by central banks around the globe.
According to the World Gold Council’s latest gold demand trends report, central banks bought a total of 863 metric tons of the precious metal last year. While the amount falls short of the more than 1,000 metric tons purchased in each of the past three years, it remains well above historical averages.
Both the World Gold Council and the VRIC panelists believe that central bank buying of gold will remain elevated in 2026, providing critical support for the yellow metal’s price.
Behind these movements is a desire to diversify foreign reserves away from US-dollar-denominated assets such as treasuries. Once considered a stable and reliable investment for central banks, high deficit spending and trillions in debt have dulled the luster of these instruments over the past two decades.
Adding to a deterioration in confidence are US actions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Since 2014, central banks have been net selling US treasuries and net stacking gold, which became exponential when the US dollar was weaponized against Russia,” Piepenburg said.
“Weaponizing a neutral reserve asset was a big no-no in terms of respect, trust and admiration for an already overly issued and indebted US treasury, and by proxy, US dollar,” he added.
However, Piepenburg was clear that he doesn’t see this accumulation of gold by central banks as a move away from the US dollar, but more as a means to prepare for a repricing of the dollar.
He also believes there will be greater usage of gold as a net settlement asset.
For his part, Garofalo said that the US debt-to-GDP ratio over the past 50 years has climbed to 350 percent, up from 100 percent in the 1970s. It has created a tricky situation for the US Federal Reserve, which must walk a fine line between how high it can raise interest rates without triggering a significant currency reset. Overall, US debt of over US$34 trillion, combined with trillions in annual deficit spending, is eroding central banks’ confidence in holding US debt.
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