Investment confidence in gold boosted by price surge

28 October 2009 / by Andy Davies

Barclays Stockbrokers has revealed that following the price of gold breaking through the $1,000 per ounce mark last month, 40 per cent of its clients expect the price to increase even more.

Widely considered as a safe haven for investors, a further 20 per cent of Barclays’ investors believe the price of gold will remain steady in the forthcoming months.  

Barbara-Ann King, head of investments at Barclays Stockbrokers says that despite the price of gold falling this week, the past nine months has seen the “popularity of gold soar”.

She explained: “The credit crisis triggered a flight to safety from investors and gold’s perceived safety and lack of correlation with equities saw investors flock to it.”

Ms King continued by saying that the recent market rally had “dulled gold’s lustre slightly” but following the apparent weakness of the dollar and “growing inflation concerns” it has led to gold’s popularity increasing again, pushing the price “up in new territory”.

However, she warned: “While it is encouraging to see our clients looking bullish in their outlook for the price of gold it is worth all investors bearing in mind that commodities like gold and the products that provide investment exposure to them can be volatile.

“If the value of the dollar drops further there may be a reverse effect on the price of gold,” she added.

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