Gold Top Performer for Decade

Gold Leading Investment Over Last 10 Years

With the last decade experiencing some tough economic times, the price of gold and the attraction of gold as a place of safety has encouraged investors to place their money in the yellow metal, which has resulted in it becoming the best performer over the last 10 years, generating profits of 277 percent during that time.

Other metals performing strongly were platinum and silver, which also grew by over 200 percent over that same period of time, with platinum enjoying a increase of 230 percent, while silver grew by 227 percent.

Gold should continue to grow in value for years to come, as continuing economic data and the printing of money by central banks continue to keep it at the top of the list for many investors.

Now the sovereign debt crisis in Europe has added another reason to invest and hold gold, and that situation is far from being worked out or understood how deeply it will go.

Gold Leading Investment Over Last 10 Years

Peter Schiff: Gold Could Rise to $5,000 and More

As measured against gold, Peter Schiff said in a recent interview that gold and the Dow could end up trading at a ratio of one-to-one, as against the existing level of 9.7-to-1. Consequently, gold could very easily rise to $5,000 or more according to Schiff, over the next several years.

What that means is the Dow will plunge another 90 percent from where it stands now as measured against gold.

Even though gold has risen significantly, it's still being held back by concerns that will eventually fall away when it starts climbing from between $2,000 and $3,000 an ounce.

Schiff said it could take on similar growth as tech stocks did in 1999, possibly moving up in $100 increments a day at many points.

Much of Schiff's view on gold is based on the misguided policies of the Obama administration, along with the Federal Reserve, which refused to cut back on printing money and bailing out banks and companies they consider "too big to fail."

Gold News | Gold Prices Rise As Investors Look to Increasing Demand

Gold News

Optimism about the economy showed through in the commodities markets recently as investors sent prices for gold, oil and grains higher on the belief that demand for basic materials will soon rebound. I think they're right, although no one can predict the timing of any market.

There is "a general feeling that maybe we're starting to stabilize here in terms of the economy," said Stephen Platt, an analyst with Archer Financial Services in Chicago. "There is some hope that the demand might come back."

Surprisingly positive data on the jobs market renewed hopes that the economy is recovering. The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of unemployed workers continuing to receive benefits unexpectedly dropped last week for the first time in 20 weeks. New jobless claims also declined, falling to 621,000 from 625,000, nearly matching analysts' estimates.

Unemployment has been one of the most closely watched gauges of the economy's health throughout the recession. Rising job losses affect vast areas of the economy, including consumer spending, retail sales and the housing market. The report came a day ahead of the government's crucial tally of monthly job losses.

A slightly weaker dollar also helped spur buying of commodities, particularly gold and oil. A weaker dollar makes both gold and oil attractive investments. By buying gold, investors insulate themselves from the risks of inflation, while oil becomes cheaper for foreign buyers when the dollar falls.

On Thursday, the dollar traded mostly lower against other major currencies as central banks in Europe made the decision to keep their benchmark interest rates at historically low levels, signaling a cautious stance on the economy.

Low interest rates are a tool governments often use to revitalize the economy by lowering borrowing costs, but they can also undermine a country's currency. The Federal Reserve also has kept its benchmark interest rate very low — near zero — as it works to boost the U.S. economy, which has put pressure on the dollar.

The dollar has declined steadily since early March as the outlook on the economy improves. This leads investors to look for more traditionally risky assets like stocks in which to park their money.

Gold for August delivery rose $16.70 to $982.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, erasing nearly all of the previous day's 2 percent loss.

Other metals also rose. July silver jumped 58.5 cents to $15.8950 an ounce, while July copper futures added 8.9 cents to $2.3010 a pound.

Gold News

Gold Falls for Third Session in a Row on Poor Retail Sales, Dollar Strength

For the third session in a row gold prices plummeted, as poor retail sales and the continued strength of the U.S. dollar put downward pressure on the metal.

It was no surprise to investors that retail sales were weak, but the numbers were down over twice the expected decline, falling by 2.7 percent last month. Declines have happened in the retail sector now for six straight months.

This will continue to hamper commodities as consumers continue to save rather than spend, and demand for goods plummet.

Another factor is the cutting of interest rates by other countries to attempt to jumpstart there economies, which keeps the dollar stronger than it normally would be in these types of conditions.

February delivery for gold dropped by $11.90 to finish the session at $808.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Over the last three days gold has plunged by 5.4 percent.