Forum Archive Index - December 2002

[nickk@quicksilver.net.nz]

Cheers 

Nk 

"New York, Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Gold, traditionally a safe haven for 
investors in times of war, rose for a seventh straight session and crude oil 
extended its month-long rally on concern that a U.S.-led war with Iraq would 
disrupt supplies and hurt the economy. 

Gold has been at or near a 5 1/2-year high this week on speculation that 
U.S. President George W. Bush is moving closer to an attack on Iraq, which 
supplies 3 percent of the world's oil. Some investors are buying gold on 
expectations that a 56 percent rally in oil prices will spur inflation and 
reduce the value of other assets, such as stocks. 

``There is a bit of fear of war in the gold market, and gold is the No. 1 
insurance policy,'' said Jean-Marie Eveillard, fund manager for the New 
York-based First Eagle SoGen Gold Fund, with $125 million under management. 
``We're getting $1 million a day of new money this week, and that compares 
with less than $100,000 a day a few months ago.'' 

Gold for February delivery rose $3.9, or 1.1 percent, to $346.60 an ounce at 
11:21 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, after 
earlier jumping $13 to $355.70. 

The price of the precious metal has jumped 24 percent this year, and some 
gold bugs are optimistic the rally will continue. Peter Palmedo, a fund 
manager at Sun Valley Gold LLC in Sun Valley, Idaho, said gold to reach $500 
next year, even without a war in Iraq, because investors have been putting 
money in the precious metal as an alternative to stocks". 


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