The gold market starts the last trading week of 2021 above $ 1,800 an ounce, and analysts say the precious metal could take a bullish position in the new year.

In a recent report, Swiss bank precious metals analyst Fahad Tariq said that even though the Fed is preparing to raise interest rates in 2022, he believes that gold's prices will inevitably increase.

However, the bank assumes that gold prices in the long term will not be higher than the price level before the pandemic.

Credit Suisse predicts the average price of gold to be around $ 1,850 an ounce. As for 2023, the bank expects gold prices to drop to $ 1,600 an ounce, with long-term prices hovering around $ 1,400.

Despite the fact that the Fed has announced that it will raise interest rates at least three times next year, Tariq believes that rising inflationary pressures will keep real rates negative until 2022. He added that negative interest rates will continue to support gold prices.

At the same time, he noted that the shares of mining companies remain an attractive investment, even if the price of gold remains stable at around $ 1,850 per ounce.

However, the gold capital sector may also face some challenges next year as commodity prices will rise due to inflation.