• Goldman sees gold hitting record $1,480 in 3 months

• Drop in U.S. real rates, political unrest cited

• Gold peaking in 2012 as U.S. rates set to rise

NEW YORK, March 18 (Reuters) – U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N: Quote) said it forecast gold prices rallying to a record $1,480 an ounce in three months on declining U.S. real interest rates.

The bank said in a note sent on Friday it still expects gold prices to reach a peak in 2012 as U.S. interest rates are set to rise with the economy continues to recover. Goldman has a six-month gold view at $1,565 an ounce, and a 12-month forecast at $1,690 an ounce.

“Given the decline in U.S. real interest rates, we see the recent retracement in gold prices as offering a good buying opportunity, and maintain our long gold trading recommendation as we expect gold to rally to our three-month price target of $1,480 an ounce,” it said.

Bullion XAU= rose more than 1 percent Friday to $1,418 an ounce on lingering political uncertainty despite Libya’s declaration of a cease-fire. It hit a record high of $1,444.40 an ounce on March 7.

“Optimism over the state of the global economic recovery at the start of the year, which drove U.S. real interest rates sharply higher, has been tempered by the ongoing events in the Middle East and North Africa and Japan…setting the stage for the next gold price rally,” Goldman said. (Reporting by Frank Tang; Editing by Marguerita Choy)