And The Survey Says...

...69% for $1,500 gold. That's the result of a Gold Investing News brain-pick:

Perhaps most telling was that nearly 69 percent of respondents said they believe the price of gold will reach $1500 before the end of 2010. This bullish sentiment is most likely supported by the increasing flight-to-safety climate currently taking shape in Europe and North America as investors contemplate the likelihood of a slow economic recovery and the possibility of a double-dip recession.

Lengthily quoted is an expert, Managing Director of Casimir Capital LLP Wayne Atwell, who disagrees with that number in the near term. A longer-term bull, who sees gold reaching $1,500-$2,000 in one to three years, he demurs for now because he thinks the next driver will be U.S. inflation which hasn't heated up yet. Also, he noted that new records call forth a lot of selling that makes further rises an upwards slog. Gold is easy to tap when other losses intrude upon the portfolio. So, he sees gold ranging between $1,100 and $1,300 this year.


Of course, a bullish near-consensus should be treated skeptically. Most likely, the respondants who think $1,500 gold is coming have already loaded up on it. In order for the forecast to come true, many others have to pile into the market.