THE COMBINATION of another record price and news that the Reserve Bank of India purchased 200 tonnes from the IMF for around $6.7 billion is evidence that gold is overtaking the US dollar as a reliable official reserve, a senior resource analyst told MINING DAILY. “Many national economies no longer trust the US dollar,” H3 Global Advisors’ Mat Kaleel said. “This purchase is a clear sign from India, which is going to become the world’s third largest economy at some point, that it does not trust the US dollar anymore. “This is not a cyclical thing, but rather a significant change in the structural nature of the US dollar, which is losing its reserve status.” Overnight updates saw the price of gold reach a record high of US$1084 per ounce, jumping thirty cents in price from the beginning of November. The spot price of gold also rose, reaching US$1087 per ounce, up 2.6% from US$1059 per ounce quoted late Monday. According to Kaleel, while the price of gold may be volatile in the short term future, the high prices are likely to remain for the long term, and this will continue to push the confidence in gold above the US dollar. “We believe this is the start of a very long term trend,” he said. “The long term floor for gold is probably around US$900 to US$1000, at which point the Chinese, the Indians and probably 10 or 15 central banks would happily dispose of US dollars. “The smartest people in the world are buying gold. It is an inflation hedge, a deflation hedge and a hedge against government fiscal irresponsibility.”
GDA Price at posting:
4.1¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
