Tuesday, January 13, 2009

And Just Where Do You Think the Price of Gold Is Going in '09?


So, up, down, sideways, or? Gold prices for this year are being predicted all over the place. $2200 an ounce, $500 an ounce, who do you believe, and what do you do with your gold investments? Miners going forward, or downward? What’s the outlook and how do you interpret all the data? Everyone has to decide for themselves, and of course, no one can say for sure, but reading and listening to everyone might get you on track.

Long term, most analysts remain bullish, but short term is another thing. Like I said, I read between $2200 for a high to $500 for a low. My opinion? I think gold will either hold where it is or drop in the near term, but bounce back by year's end....I'm just not sure how much. With so much money being pumped into economies around the world, more people should be sheltering into gold, but they aren’t, which might mean they are all simply scared to do anything. Gold recently broke below its’ long term moving average, which does not look good for it going up right away, and its’ highs have been lower, and lower.

I’m not sure if gold will start back up after the middle of the year or a little later. In the mean time you can watch for some very good buying opportunities in the near future in gold. If it makes it back to $500 an ounce, I know I’ll be buying. If it gets to the $2200 by the end of the year that others predict, I’ll be selling. I think the highs and lows will more likely be in between somewhere no matter what happens, as things usually are never as bad or as good as the extremes predict. In the future, gold is sure to go up as inflation heats up by sometime in 2010. You cannot crank out all these dollars and not have inflation in your future.

And what about the gold miners? Well, when you are dealing with stocks, you must consider the companys first. If you wish to invest in them, make sure you are buying the COMPANY, and not the movement in the stock. In general, right now, you should be looking for good companies that have lots of cash on hand and are leaders in their sector with an excellent business plan, and a low price for what you are getting.

Another investment venue in gold is gold coins. These are becoming harder and harder to get, and, as most of you know, the U.S. mint ran out of their Buffaloes last Fall. Older gold coins will continue to be a good investment when gold prices are down. They appreciate rather fast when demand for gold goes up, as many people will invest in the coins before anything else.

What does this mean for gold prospectors? Well, the raw gold you find will only go up in value. Your major cost is your equipment and your time and labor. Find more gold and you’ll be worth more, that’s for sure, but remember that you are NOT a hobbyist OR a recreationalist. You need to see your activities as FOR PROFIT. I have another piece coming out later this week about the new things the U.S. Forest Service has to say about these attitudes. Until then...

Good Prospecting to You,

Shirley Weilnau

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