TL;DR
Gold futures spiked above $5,400 per ounce as the Iran war triggered the most concentrated safe-haven rush since 2020, vindicating Goldman Sachs's January forecast two months early.
MSM Perspective
Yahoo Finance reported the $5,400 touch on March 2; Goldman Sachs's $5,400 year-end forecast, issued in January, was treated by Bloomberg and Reuters as prescient rather than bullish.
X Perspective
Gold traders on X are split between those calling $5,400 the beginning of a run to $6,000 and contrarians warning that the war premium will evaporate the moment a ceasefire headline crosses the wire.
Gold futures touched $5,400 per ounce on March 2, the first trading day after US-Israeli strikes on Iran began, as investors fled into the oldest safe haven available. [1] The spike — roughly $500 in a single session — represented the most concentrated rush into bullion since the early days of the pandemic. The price has since pulled back to the $4,500-$4,900 range, but the $5,400 print marked a new all-time high. [2]
Goldman Sachs had forecast $5,400 as its year-end 2026 target in January, citing central bank purchases and emerging-market demand. [3] The war delivered that target in two days. Bloomberg reported the note was circulating on trading desks as evidence the gold thesis had structural support beyond the war premium. [4]
Gold has corrected from its highs but remains above $4,800 — itself a record just months ago. As long as Hormuz is closed and central banks are repricing rate paths, the floor under gold has a geopolitical foundation that earnings calls cannot provide.
-- PRIYA SHARMA, Delhi
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