Gold rises and rises but is still far from 1980 peak
\nDecember 2, 2009 – 3:12PM<\/p>\n
The gold price continues to surge but is yet to reach its all-time inflation-adjusted peak in 1980 that translates to more than $US2000 an ounce in today\u2019s dollars, although it could reach this level if the US dollar continues to weaken.<\/p>\n
The price of the precious metal eclipsed $US1200\/oz ounce for the first time overnight as a battered greenback elevated demand for gold, a liquid asset class that is considered a hedge against inflation or political risk.<\/p>\n
Spot gold in Sydney hit an unprecedented peak during Wednesday\u2019s session of $US1208.90 and was recently trading at $US1207.40, up $US27.98 on Tuesday\u2019s local closing price of $US1179.42.<\/p>\n
US gold futures for February 2010 delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange\u2019s COMEX division struck a record $US1200.50\/oz.<\/p>\n
Gold\u2019s previous peak was $US850 per fine ounce in February 1980, which translates into more than $US2000 when adjusted for inflation.<\/p>\n
Sydney-based investment research company van Eyk says scope remains for a significant rally in the nominal gold price, but there could be considerable volatility in the near term.<\/p>\n
Van Eyk chief executive Mark Thomas said on Wednesday that one particularly feverish commentator had predicted the gold price would hit $US5000\/oz.<\/p>\n
More pragmatic analysts say if the US dollar continues to weaken the gold price could rise to $US2000\/oz – a proposition considered extremely bullish only a few years ago when global economic conditions were buoyant.<\/p>\n
H3 Global Advisors portfolio manager Mat Kaleel said gold could easily go to $US3,000\/oz “if conditions don\u2019t return to normal and the US government keeps borrowing money\u2019\u2019, and amid expectations global gold supply would continue to decline.<\/p>\n
Mr Kaleel and Mr Thomas pointed to US Federal Reserve governor Ben Bernanke\u2019s recent quote \u2018\u2018the Fed has a printing press and will use it to combat deflation if necessary\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018They more money you issue, the price of gold relative to the amount of dollars should go up,\u2019\u2019 Mr Kaleel said.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018They (the US) forecast a $US1 trillion ($1.1 trillion) deficit for the next 12 or six years on top of the $US12 trillion ($13 trillion) they already owe – that\u2019s a 50 per cent increase in the money supply.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Over the next five to ten years, you could pick a figure for the gold price depending on how reckless you think the central banks are going to be – put it that way.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Mr Thomas said it would be prudent to hold gold as an insurance policy if the battle between the deflationary forces of the credit crunch versus the potentially highly inflationary monetary policies of most of the major economies continues.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Unless investors assume a return to fair weather with benign conditions in the global economy, and that the imbalances of the past decade have been resolved, van Eyk recommends continued exposure, notwithstanding the considerable volatility and currency-based fluctuations in the sector,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
Among key drivers for the recent price spike has been the Reserve Bank of India\u2019s (RBI) gold-buying spree.India\u2019s central bank in the past month has bought 200 tonnes of the precious metal from the International Monetary Fund for more than $US6.7 billion.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It has been calculated that the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) has made $US800 million on the investment in just three weeks,\u2019\u2019 Mr Thomas said.<\/p>\n
Mr Kaleel said the IMF was trying to sell another 200 tonnes, which could be snapped up by China and Russia.<\/p>\n
AAP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gold rises and rises but is still far from 1980 peak December 2, 2009 – 3:12PM The gold price continues to surge but is yet to reach its all-time inflation-adjusted peak in 1980 that translates to more than $US2000 an ounce in today\u2019s dollars, although it could reach this level if the US dollar continues […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gold-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.australian-gold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.australian-gold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.australian-gold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.australian-gold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.australian-gold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.australian-gold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.australian-gold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.australian-gold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.australian-gold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}