The Week of the Record Gold Price

As investors in the gold market we have waited patiently for gold prices to break through the old record gold price of $1033.00/oz and set a new record gold price which it did when it briefly touched on $1060.00/oz this week. This record has been along time coming after the previous failed attempts this year to establish a new record gold price.

For the most part the gold producing stocks also took part in this rally as evidenced by the Gold Bugs Index, the HUI, which is currently sitting at 446. The HUI is important to us because it largely represents those precious metals producers that have not hedged their production and therefore offer an investor real exposure to gold prices.

As the inflation/deflation debate continues with much gusto we still lean strongly towards the inflationary scenario based on each and almost every governments action to run the printing presses relentlessly. In our humble opinion gold is a leading indicator for inflation and is telling us that inflation is now in the pipeline and it wont be too long before it raises its ugly head. Why else would Paul Volker have been added to Obama’s team of advisors, wasn’t he the very man who in the late seventies and early eighties was brought in to slay the inflation dragon which he did with a base rate of around 19% if my memory serves me well.

Another action worthy of note is that The Reserve Bank of Australia have actually raised interest rates this week, the first of the G20 to do so. This is one country that has an eye on inflation, acting early in an attempt to prevent it getting a grip of their economy. This move will influence others thinking and those with the stronger economies may well follow suit shortly. The countries with weaker economies will no doubt remain as is not daring to risk a fragile recovery at this stage by raising rates. For home owners now might be the time to lock in mortgage rates before they also head to higher ground, worth a discussion with your financial advisor.

Taking a quick look at the chart we can see that gold prices really took off to set a new record gold price with the MACD experiencing a golden crossover, a rising STO and the RSI breaking into the ‘70′ range. A move this far and this fast usually signals that its time for a breather and a bit of a pull back for gold.

The flip side to that rationale is that the dollar, along with many other currencies, is struggling to retain its value. We can only see paper money losing more and more of its value as debasement continues at a hectic pace, hence the next two months will be explosive for gold as it sets one record gold price after another record gold price.

Finally, a reminder that when we throw in the effects of inflation, gold should be trading at around $2300/oz to equal its historic high of the 1980s, so there is still a lot of ground to make up.