Investors globally are increasingly turning to gold as a safe haven, and this trend is set to drive gold prices above US$1,500 per ounce by the end of this year, according to Nick Barisheff, president and CEO of Bullion Management Group Inc.

Speaking at a Toronto event co-hosted by BMG and mine development company Sage Gold Inc., Barisheff said the recent rise in gold prices has been fuelled by investors around the world who have lost confidence in the financial system.

“When they lose confidence, they start moving to gold,” he said. “This is what’s happening on a global basis.”

This movement to gold is taking place at the central bank level as well as the individual investor level, Barisheff added. He pointed out that after decades of selling small amounts of gold, central banks around the world became net buyers of gold in 2009.

Contributing to gold’s appeal as a safe haven is the fact that it’s a hard commodity in an environment where governments are printing paper currencies at an accelerating pace, Barisheff said. He noted that countries around the world are facing record-high debt loads, and many governments are dealing with it through quantitative easing to avoid having to default.

“They’re all creating too much debt; they’re all printing too much money,” Barisheff said.

When the price of gold rises – as it has during the past decade – Barisheff said it’s a reflection of investor uncertainty towards other currencies.

“The world is losing confidence in currencies, in the monetary management of governments,” he said.

Also putting upward pressure on the prices of gold is the fact that production of the commodity reached a peak in 2001, and has been on a downward trend ever since, according to Barisheff. He said the amount of gold in the world represents only a small fraction of the amount of financial assets worldwide, and a large proportion of the gold supply is held by central banks and wealthy families that don’t intend to sell it.

As a result, as more investors seek to trade in their financial assets for the precious metal, “There’s only one thing that can happen,” Barisheff said: “the price has to go up dramatically.”

Added Barisheff: “That’s what’s starting to happen. That’s why we’re seeing an increase in gold prices.”

He expects the price of gold to continue to rise for many years to come.

IE