WGC projects positive gold trend return after 12% drop in March 2026
There are early indications for gold to continue its positive trend (in April), but short-term risks including central bank mobilisation and deleveraging remain.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The World Gold Council predicts that gold price movements will return to a positive trend with the strengthening of fundamental factors after dropping 12 per cent in March 2026 to $4,608 per troy ounce.
World Gold Council Senior Quantitative Analyst Johan Palmberg stated that the decline marked the deepest gold price correction in nearly 13 years, since June 2013.
“There are early indications for gold to continue its positive trend (in April), but short-term risks including central bank mobilisation and deleveraging remain,” Johan Palmberg said in an official statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He explained that the price drop in March was triggered by massive sell-offs due to the accumulation of retail investor exposure to gold, reflected in global gold Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) outflows of $12 billion or equivalent to 84 tonnes of gold last month.
Johan said that pressure on gold prices was also caused by market speculation regarding potential gold sales by the world’s central banks following the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) using around 50 tonnes of gold as collateral.
Nevertheless, they see potential for stabilisation and a positive price movement trend for gold since early April 2026.
This is due to the US dollar exchange rate struggling to maintain its strengthening and failing to break through recent highest levels significantly, thus reducing one source of short-term pressure on gold prices.
“Anecdotal reports also indicate emerging demand from the wealth management segment, retail sector, and physical demand as gold prices begin to stabilise,” Johan said.
However, he conveyed that risks still loom over gold price movements throughout this year.
He revealed that if the conflict in the Middle East causes world oil prices to remain well above $100 per barrel for a prolonged period, there will be further cross-asset deleveraging, yield blow-outs, and mobilisation of gold by the official sector.