Indians were on a spending spree last year. But those who shopped for gold have reason to be satisfied with their purchase gold price has seen a 26 per cent rally this year! In rupee terms, gold prices have shot up by Rs 400/gram (Standard 24 carat gold), a 22 per cent run up. In contrast, stocks weren't a better play the benchmark Sensex is up just 15 per cent year-to-date.
January 21st, 1980 saw the price of gold reach 850 US dollars per ounce. To understand how much money this is worth today one would need to adjust the figures according to the Consumer Price Index. 850 dollars in 1980 is worth 2,250 US dollars in the year 2010. If gold were to repeat the value of a previous high it could double from the price it is trading at in December of 2010.
Other situation suggest that because the current economic output is many times greater than 30 years ago, the peak price of gold could even reach 3000 to 4000 dollars per ounce in the years to come. On the other hand the argument could be made that markets are based on mass psychology and trader emotions. Some might suggest that the average person would not believe that the price of gold could ever reach up to 3,000 dollars, thus creating a resistance to that level ever being achieved.
However some market participants believe that as the market recovers in 2011 and beyond, the price of gold will retreat dramatically as the economic woe gets pushed to the backs of people's minds and their hedging tactics are tossed aside. Longer term, the market could face headwinds that come with a sustained economic recovery as global interest rates could rise, denting the appeal of gold, a non-yield bearing asset. “The market is expected to derive strength from further economic pitfalls and the near-zero interest rates maintained by the US Federal Reserve.
There are many other reasons for gold's out performance this year. One, the change in the gold-dollar relationship. While investors have traditionally bought gold when the dollar weakened, this year was different. They bought the dollar and gold simultaneously as the euro weakened. Two, strong revival in jewellery demand after the recession induced dip last year. Three, growing investment demand for the metal from emerging and also developed nations as returns from other options dwindled. Further, gold fundamentals were supported by the lack of significant increase in mine outputs during the year and a fall in scrap gold sales. With global economies still in the grip of uncertainty, gold continues to present a case for investment. The demand for gold has been traditionally driven by jewellery consumption. But that seems to be changing with investment demand for gold now driven by a range of products such as Gold Exchange Traded Funds.
some of these deals happening quite recently, there may be potential for further value unlocking in gold stocks. But before you choose mining funds over plainer options like gold ETFs do note that they are high risk bets they are more volatile than gold and also tend to under perform physical gold during a downturn. While most of the arguments presented here may well hold good in the coming year too, possible increases in interest rates that will make bond yields attractive, are a risk. Resurfacing concerns over another wave of recessionary conditions should keep investment demand for gold firm, as investors look to hedge against financial market volatility and vulnerability.
0 comments:
Post a Comment