State Street Global Advisors, one of the world’s largest investors, says gold prices could reach $US3100 an ounce this year, extending a 2024 rally that pushed the precious metal to its biggest annual gain in 14 years.

Bullion rallied 27 per cent last year and peaked at a record $US2778 an ounce in October, fuelled by robust central bank purchases, interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and safe-haven demand amid geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East.