Gold To Rise On Demand

Gold prices may rise for a second week on speculation demand from jewelry makers in China and the Middle East exceeds production by mining companies, according to Bloomberg?s poll.

22 of 43 traders, analysts and investors surveyed Oct. 27 and Oct. 28 from Melbourne to New York said prices will rise.
Thirteen recommended selling and eight were neutral. Gold gained 1.2 percent last week to $474.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal, up 11 percent in the past year, reached a 17-year high of $483.10 on Oct. 12.

?In China, there is real physical demand for gold, and the same goes for the Middle East,'' Pierre Lassonde, president of Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp., said in a telephone interview on Oct. 26. There is "good demand in an environment where mine supply is falling,'' he said. "That's what's putting prices where they are today.''

Gold futures for December delivery rose $5.70 an ounce last week on the Comex. The gain was predicted by a majority of analysts surveyed Oct. 20 and Oct. 21.

Bloomberg's survey has forecast the direction of prices accurately in 45 of 79 weeks, or 57 percent of the time. A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a set price by a specific date.