‘Gold will glitter at new highs in 2012', says Goldman Sachs

By Rob Davies for the Daily Mail
Updated: 15:31 EDT, 25 December 2011

Forget frankincense and myrrh, gold will be the star commodity to follow in 2012, predicts Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs, writes Rob Davies.

The yellow metal will peak at $1,900 per ounce next year, the bank said, forecasting an annual average of $1,810.

Among the catalysts it pointed to were the continuing environment of low interest rates, low risk appetite and limited supply of the precious metal.

'Giant vampire': Goldman Sachs predicts gold will be the star commodity in 2012

Goldman’s forecast of further rises in the gold price signals a second consecutive record year for the commodity, seen as a safe haven investment in times of economic turmoil.

The average morning fix price at the end of the month was $1,571 in 2011, including a record peak of $1,896 in August.

Gold-mining equities are unlikely to match the performance of the metal itself, Goldman warned, due to the rise of exchange traded funds which allow an alternative route into investing in gold.

But its analysts singled out European Goldfields and Centamin Egypt as potential strong performers, despite a difficult year for the latter amid political upheaval in Egypt.

The bank, once described by Rolling Stone magazine as a ‘giant vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity’, downgraded Randgold Resources and AngloGold.