Gold News & Info

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold is well on its way to $1,000 an ounce this year, London precious-metals consultancy GFMS Ltd. reported Thursday, the latest forecast that sees bullion at the four-digit mark. GFMS, which provides supply and demand data on gold to the World Gold Council and others, said it expects the same factors that have been driving gold higher will to continue to burnish demand this year. A weak dollar, record oil prices and a threat to U.S. economic growth brought on by the subprime crisis have been cited as reasons gold recently topped $900 an ounce. Gold is usually seen as a safe haven in times of economic distress and inflation.

"It's far easier to argue that we're at the start of a period of higher inflation and lower U.S. growth, rather than we're emerging from the worst," said Philip Klapwijk, executive chairman of GFMS. A short-term correction is possible, however, due to the speed of the recent price rise and large financial holdings in U.S. gold futures, the group reported. See full story.