
GOLD HIGHER IN FACE OF STRONGER DOLLAR
Gold is trading slightly higher Thursday, even as the dollar began gaining strength against the euro after US initial jobless claims figures. As of 11:17 a.m. EST, gold was trading at $1,239 an ounce on the New York Spot Market. Silver was also modestly higher at $19.82.
Oil prices continue to decline as the government released reports of growing U.S. inventories. Crude for June delivery dropped 66 cents to $74.99 a barrel, as of 11:18 a.m. EST on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The rally in stocks Monday and Wednesday has slowed. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 3 points at 10,900, the S&P 500 index lost 3 points and the Nasdaq composite lost 12 points or 0.1% as of 11:28 a.m. EST. (NYSE)
Gold prices are expected to hit record highs up to $1,500 this year according to Gerry Schubert at Fortis Nederland. "If the uncertainty about the debt crisis in several European countries persists, gold will continue to get support to quite a large extent from the institutional investor side," he said. "Only the medium term will show how serious various governments are in implementing all the spending cuts and austerity programs they talk about and, if it’s not clearly demonstrated that they are very serious, I think the markets would be very nervous and gold will spike.” Schubert expects prices to jump 20% in the coming months, reaching $1,500 some time during this year. (The Bullion Desk, 5/12)


- S&P Capital IQ - Gold: $1,900 (in 2012) "Leo Larkin, metals and mining analyst at S&P Capital IQ, thinks that $1,900 gold might not be that much of a stretch [in 2012]. 'Gold has been ..."
- Citigroup - Gold: $2,300 - $2,400 (by end of 2012) "While we remain cautious on Gold in the near term...we continue to believe that the bull market remains intact...we believe that 2012 may be..."
- Leeb Capital Management - Gold: $2,500 - $3,000 (in 2012) "I'll give you my target for gold at the end of 2012, it's going to be trading somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000. This..."
- Global Hunter Securities - Gold: $1,800 (in 2012) "'What I am looking for is a gold price of $1,800 an ounce in 2012,' says Jeffrey Wright, senior research analyst at Global Hunter..."
- US Global Investors - Gold: $3,600 (by 2017) "'People get so caught up with the next three minutes for gold and they should really be focused on the next three years,' says Frank Holmes, ..."
- Goldman Sachs - Gold: over $1,900 (in 2012) "Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs predicts that gold's bull run will continue into 2012 with a low interest rate environment and..."
- CNBC - Gold: $2,400 (no period given) "Gold will top $2,400 an ounce. The long-term bull market in gold marches on. Gold won't make a straight shot to a new inflation-adjusted high. As long..."
- Nomura - Gold: $2,000 (by end of 2012) "Nomura has raised its forecast for gold prices to $2,000 an ounce by the end of 2012, from $1,800 earlier. The brokerage said the low-interest rate..."
- Morgan Stanley - Gold: $2,200 (in first half of 2012) "Gold will lead a rally in commodities in 2012 as Europe's sovereign-debt crisis continues to roil financial markets, spurring demand for ..."
- UBS - Gold: $2,050 average in 2012 "[Gold] remains one of the top commodity picks for 2012 as 'most of the factors that pushed gold higher in 2011 are not going away,' according to UBS..."
- Bank of America Merrill Lynch - Gold: $2,150 - $2,200 (average in 2012) "From a technical perspective we believe that the bull trend for gold remains intact… with gold having not yet met any of..."
- TheStreet.com - Gold: $2,500 (by May 2013) "I want to own gold here. I think gold is going to $2,500 eighteen months from now... Gold has been up for ten straight years and this going to be the..."









