• Gold prices could rally another 20% even after a recent string of records, Jeff Gundlach says.

• That’s because investors are finally treating gold like a true asset class rather than a safe haven.

• The price of bullion is up 25% year-to-date.

Gold’s record-setting rally isn’t close to being over, according to “Bond King” Jeff Gundlach.

The DoubleLine Capital CEO predicted that the price of the precious metal could climb as high as $4,000 per ounce, a gain of 20% from Friday afternoon’s price of around $3,345.

Speaking to CNBC this week, Gundlach said tariff-related volatility is fundamentally changing the way traders view the precious metal, pointing to its 25% rally year-to-date.

“I think that’s telling us that we’re in a regime where gold is no longer a speculation for short-term traders, or for survivalists as a long-term hold. I think people are viewing gold as an asset class out of fear of the turmoil that’s going on geopolitically, with the tariffs and everything else, and just the amount of debt that exists, that people wonder how we’re going to deal with this. So gold is sort of the true monetary asset,” Gundlach said.

The global market for physically-backed gold ETFs swelled by $11 billion in April to $397 billion, according to data from the World Gold Council.

Meanwhile, 58% of global fund managers in a recent Bank of America survey said they believed gold was the safest asset in a full-blown trade war.

Gundlach added that he believes the backdrop for other risk assets, like stocks, is challenging at the moment. He doubled down on his forecast that stocks could see a “breakdown” in the near term, potentially taking the S&P 500 as low as 4,500. That would imply a 20% drop from current levels.

“I feel like we’re in a risk-off market on an intermediate term basis,” he said.

Other forecasters have issued bullish calls on gold in recent months, citing uncertainty stemming from Trump’s trade policy.

Goldman Sachs lifted its price target for the precious metal last month to $3,700 an ounce, pointing to high levels of policy uncertainty and a potential slowing of the US economy.

UBS and Bank of America have also issued $3,500 price targets on gold, implying 4% upside from current levels.

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