Gold May Rise for Fifth Week as Investors Seek Store of Value

By Pham-Duy Nguyen


Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may rise for the fifth straight week on speculation that the recession will deepen in 2009 and global political tensions will heighten, boosting the appeal of the precious metal as a store of value.

Sixteen of 24 traders, investors and analysts surveyed from Mumbai to Chicago from Dec. 30 through Jan. 2 advised buying gold, which rose almost 1 percent last week to $879.50 an ounce in New York. Four said to sell, and four were neutral.

Gold climbed 5.5 percent in 2008, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 38 percent and the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials dropped 36 percent. The metal gained for an eighth straight year.

Most analysts surveyed from Dec. 24 to Dec. 26 anticipated gold’s gains last week. The survey has forecast prices accurately in 145 of 244 weeks, or 59 percent of the time.