Wells Fargo Investment Institute cuts 2026 gold target to $4,900-$5,100

Wells Fargo Investment Institute just took another swing at its gold forecast, and this time the bat went the wrong direction for bulls. The bank now expects gold to finish 2026 between $4,900 and $5,100 per ounce, a notable step down from the $5,300 to $5,500 range it projected as recently as June. To put the whiplash in context: WFII started the year calling for gold to land between $6,100 and $6,300. That target has now been cut by roughly 20% at the midpoint. Gold’s 2026 story is increasingly one of gravity reasserting itself after January’s sugar high above $5,500. A forecast in freefall The timeline of WFII’s gold revisions reads like a slow-motion correction. Back in February and March, the institute had set a more conservative range of $4,500 to $4,700 before cranking it up to $6,100 to $6,300 as momentum surged. By mid-June, reality started whittling that number down to $5,300 to $5,500. Now, in September, we’re looking at $4,900 to $5,100. The culprit is familiar to anyone watching macro markets: the Federal Reserve. A more hawkish-than-expected stance on interest rates has made the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset like gold significantly steeper. WFII isn...