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Factbox: Gold Milestones On The Road To Record High - Reuters

(Reuters) - Gold struck a record high on Thursday at $1,508 an ounce as the dollar fell to a three-year low, supporting sentiment in precious metals.

Following are key dates in gold's trading history since the early 1970s:

• August 1971 - U.S. President Richard Nixon takes the dollar off the gold standard, which had been in place with minor modifications since the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 fixed the conversion rate for one Troy ounce of gold at $35.
• August 1972 - The United States devalues the dollar to $38 per ounce of gold.
• March 1973 - Most major countries adopt floating exchange rate system.
• May 1973 - U.S. devalues dollar to $42.22 per ounce.
• January 1980 - Gold hits record high at $850 per ounce. High inflation because of strong oil prices, Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and the impact of the Iranian revolution prompt investors to move into the metal.
• August 1999 - Gold falls to a low at $251.70 on worries about central banks reducing reserves of gold bullion and mining companies selling gold in forward markets to protect against falling prices.
• October 1999 - Gold reaches a two-year high at $338 after agreement to limit gold sales by 15 European central banks. Market sentiment toward gold begins to turn more positive.
• February 2003 - Gold reaches a 4-½ year high on safe-haven buying in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq.
• December 2003-January 2004 - Gold breaks above $400, reaching levels last traded in 1988. Investors increasingly buy gold as risk insurance for portfolios.
• November 2005 - Spot gold breaches $500 for the first time since December 1987, when spot hit $502.97.
• April 11, 2006 - Gold prices surpass $600, the highest point since December 1980, with funds and investors pouring money into commodities on a weak dollar, firm oil prices and geopolitical worries.
• May 12, 2006 - Gold prices peak at $730 an ounce with funds and investors pouring money into commodities on a weak dollar, firm oil prices and political tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
• June 14, 2006 - Gold falls 26 percent to $543 from its 26-year peak after investors and speculators sell out of commodity positions.
• November 7, 2007 - Spot gold hits a 28-year high of $845.40 an ounce.
• January 2, 2008 - Spot gold breaks above $850.
• March 13, 2008 - Benchmark gold contract trades over $1,000 for the first time in U.S. futures market.
• March 17, 2008 - Spot gold hits an all-time high of $1,030.80 an ounce. U.S. gold futures touch record peak of $1,033.90.
• September 17, 2008 - Spot gold rises by nearly $90 an ounce, a record one-day gain, as investors seek safety amid turmoil on the equity markets.
• Jan-March 2009 - Gold-backed exchange-traded funds report record inflows in the first quarter as financial sector insecurity spurs safe-haven buying. Holdings of the largest, the SPDR Gold Trust, rise 45 percent to 1,127.44 tonnes.
• February 20, 2009 - Gold rises back above $1,000 an ounce to a peak of $1,005.40 as investors buy bullion as a safe store of value as major economies face recession and equity markets tumble.
• April 24, 2009 - China announces it has raised its gold reserves by three-quarters since 2003 and now holds 1,054 tonnes of the precious metal, boosting expectations it may add further to its reserves.
• August 7, 2009 - European central banks opt to renew their earlier agreement to limit gold sales over a five-year period, setting the sales cap at 400 tonnes a year.
• September 8, 2009 - Gold breaks back through $1,000 an ounce for the first time since February 2009 on dollar weakness and concerns over the sustainability of the economic recovery.
• December 1, 2009 - Gold climbs above $1,200 an ounce for the first time as the dollar drops.
• December 3, 2009 - Gold hits record high at $1,226.10 an ounce, with dollar weakness and expectations for central banks to diversify reserves into gold driving prices higher.
• May 11, 2010 - Gold reaches fresh record high above $1,230 an ounce as fears over the contagion of debt issues in the euro zone fuel safe-haven buying.
• June 21, 2010 - Gold jumps to a new high at $1,264.90 an ounce as underlying fears over financial market stability and sovereign risk combine with dollar weakness to push the metal through resistance at its previous high.
• Sept 14, 2010 - Gold climbs back to record highs, this time at $1,274.75, as global markets reflect renewed uncertainty on the economic outlook.
• Sept 16-22, 2010 - Gold hits record highs for five successive sessions, peaking at $1,296.10, as investors flock to bullion after the Fed signals it may consider further quantitative easing, weakening the dollar and raising fears over future inflation.
• Sept 27,2010 - Spot gold prices touch the $1,300 an ounce mark for the first time.
• Oct 7,2010 - Gold rallies to a record high above $1,360 an ounce as the dollar comes under pressure from building expectations for the U.S. Federal Reserve to take extra measures to keep interest rates low and prop up the economy.
• Oct 13, 2010 - Gold jumped to record highs near $1,375 an ounce as the dollar continued to languish, with the U.S. unit coming under pressure after minutes from the Fed's September meeting signaled the U.S. economy may need further stimulus.
• Nov 8, 2010 - Gold prices break through the $1,400 an ounce mark for the first time as haven buying prompted by renewed budget problems in Ireland more than offset a sharp dollar bounce.
• Dec 7, 2010 - Gold reaches a fresh record high above $1,425 an ounce, driven by fund buying ahead of year-end, jitters over the euro zone debt crisis and speculation for further U.S. monetary easing.
• January 2011 - Gold prices fall more than 6 percent in their worst monthly performance in over a year as a revival in risk appetite diverts investment to higher-yielding assets.
• March 1, 2011 - Gold recovers to hit a record high at $1,434.65 an ounce as unrest in Tunisia and Egypt spreads across the Middle East and North Africa, boosting oil prices.
• March 7,2011 - Gold extends record highs to $1,444.40 an ounce as oil prices hit their highest in 2-1/2 years after protests are quashed in Saudi Arabia and as violence in Libya rages.
• March 24, 2011 - The resignation of Portuguese prime minister Jose Socrates pushes the euro zone debt crisis back to center stage, lifting gold prices to a record above $1,447 an ounce.
• April 21,2011 - Gold climbs to an all-time high at $1,508 an ounce, in a fifth consecutive record-breaking session, supported by a weak dollar and sovereign debt concerns.

(Compiled by Atul Prakash, Jan Harvey, Himani Sarkar, Amanda Cooper and Rujun Shen)

Source: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE73K10020110422

Economic Crisis Could Push Gold Price To $1,600, Warns Report

Gold is the most widely traded precious metal, the price has rallied 27% in the past year. Photograph Chris Collins/Corbis Gold prices could top $1,600 per troy ounce before the end of 2011 as the fragility of the global economic recovery, fears about inflation and turmoil in the middle east and north Africa drive prices higher. The price of gold has rallied strongly this year, hitting a new record of $1,476.37 an ounce this week, driven on by concerns over inflation, a weak dollar and the shaky economic recovery. In its Gold Survey 2011, metals consultancy GFMS said there was growing evidence that buyers may drive prices still higher this year. "There is a higher starting point for each successive investor-led rally in the price. Thus, assuming investment demand will at some point take off again this year, there remains good scope for new highs in the price to be recorded," the consultancy said. GFMS's prediction comes after a record increase in production of gold last year. The amount of gold going onto the market reached 2,689 tonnes in 2010 as more was mined in Australia, China, Argentina, the US and Burkina Faso. But the increase was met by soaring demand. Investment in physical bars rose 66% and jewellery demand rose 11% despite rising prices. "The prospects for gold prices this year remain bright," GFMS executive chairman Philip Klapwijk said. "Investors continue to be concerned about the outlook for inflation, with governments in general showing little appetite to tighten monetary policy significantly." Gold is the most widely traded precious metal. The price has rallied 27% in the past year and has risen on an annual basis for nine consecutive years. The price weakened earlier this year but has since rallied. Investment demand for gold fell in 2010 but was still "comfortably" the second highest on record, GFMS reported. Philip Newman of GFMS said prices were being underpinned by strong demand in India and China as well as by western investors buying into stock-exchange traded funds (ETFs), which offer exposure to the gold market without the necessity of buying the product itself. In April over 2,142 tonnes of gold were represented by investments in ETFs, up from 1,222 tonnes at the end of 2008. Newman said investors were looking to gold as inflationary fears mounted and the fragility of the economic recovery put governments off from implementing sharp rises in interest rates in the short term. Global demand for bars of gold was 880 tonnes last year, with India and China accounting for more than half of that. India is also the world's biggest market for gold jewellery. "We expect investment in gold this year to be supported by the probable spreading of the government debt crisis from Europe to the United States and Japan, especially in light of the huge budget deficits the latter two countries will record in 2011 and the lack of concrete measures they are taking to rein these in," says the report. But Newman said there was still a long way to go before gold hits the highs seen in 1980 when the price hit $880 an ounce – the equivalent of $2,248 today – driven by a recession, a spike in oil prices and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/apr/13/gold-price-record-high

Lonjakan Harga Emas - Kosmo Online

LONDON - Harga emas dunia diramal meningkat sebanyak 13 peratus pada tahun ini menjadikan harga logam itu mencecah sehingga AS$1,600 (RM4,840) bagi satu auns (28.3 gram).Kenaikan itu berterusan sejak 2001 didorong oleh kebimbangan terhadap inflasi yang tinggi dan kadar faedah global yang rendah."Kami tidak akan terkejut jika melihat harga emas melepasi AS$1,600 sebelum hujung tahun ini," kata Pengerusi Eksekutif firma penyelidikan GFMS Ltd., Philip Klapwijk dalam laporan terbarunya yang disiarkan semalam.
Ramalan itu tidak berubah daripada jangkaan awal yang dikeluarkan pada Januari lalu selepas harga emas mencatat harga tertinggi dalam sejarah iaitu AS$1,478.18 (RM4,472.23) bagi setiap auns di London pada Isnin lalu.
"Para pelabur terus bimbang mengenai inflasi dan kerajaan-kerajaan dilihat kurang berminat untuk mengetatkan polisi kewangan. Kedudukan kewangan kerajaan juga menjadi alasan kenapa pelabur kekal fokus terhadap pasaran emas.
"Penerimaan kenaikan harga oleh para pengguna akan membantu meningkatkan permintaan terhadap barang kemas selain menyediakan platform kukuh untuk pelabur menaikkan harga emas menjadi lebih tinggi," kata Klapwijk.
Source: http://www.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/content.aspy=2011&dt=0414&pub=Kosmo&sec=Negara&pg=ne_01.htm

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