Gold enthusiasts say the price of the precious metal is set to reach fresh highs early in the New Year, on mounting inflation fears fueled by loose U.S. and euro-zone monetary policies.
Because of central-bank purchases and Chinese imports emerging to support gains, gold analysts and traders say they expect the metal to quickly surpass $1,500 a troy ounce, reaching as high as $1,700 an ounce—or even $2,000, according to forecasts by some of the industry’s more bullish participants—before the tide turns slightly in 2012.
Gold has been a solid performance in 2010, benefiting largely from sovereign-debt troubles sovereign-debt troubles in the euro zone and the anticipation of extended monetary stimulus in the U.S