Gold hits close to 13-year high
Gold has defied expectations to record a 20 per cent gain for the second year running as it finished 2003 near a 13-year high.
The metal benefited from the slide in the US dollar against major currencies, with bullion prices $417.40 a troy ounce - within 31 cents of its highest level since February 1990. Bullion settled fractionally lower at $417.25/$417.95 in London trade on Wednesday.
Strategists expect gold to continue its run this year - possibly to a 20-year high. The metal's rise last year mirrors the magnitude of the dollar's decline against the euro.
Many gold investors value the metal as a currency, and see it as a safe haven in times of economic and political crisis. But it is unusual for gold to show such a strong increase when the world economy is recovering. Gold has risen almost 70 per cent since reaching its 20-year low of $251 per ounce in August 1999, a period when the metal was shunned and unfashionable beside the then sought-after technology and internet stocks.
Its attraction as an alternative investment gathered momentum last year with the launch of gold-backed investment products from the World Gold Council. Investors bought about 23 tonnes of gold in the first three weeks of the launch of the council's listed product on the London Stock Exchange.
Analysts said this was a good start to the gold products, called Gold Bullion Securities, considering that investors only bought a net 125 tonnes of metal in 2002.
Gold traders said it looked increasingly likely that gold could reach $450 in 2004, possibly going as high as $500, a level it has only broken above for a few months in the past 20 years.
However, gold was outshone in 2003 by other precious metals. Silver gained 25 per cent, hitting $6 a troy ounce for the first time since May 1998.
黄金价位创近13年新高
黄金逆市场预期，连续第二年创下20%的升幅，以接近13年新高的价位与2003年告别。
受益于美元兑其它主要货币走低，金块价格达到每盎司417.40美元的高位，较其1990年2月后所创最高水平低31美分。在周三的伦敦黄金市场交易中，金块价格小幅走低，在417.25美元/417.95美元区间内交易。
策略师预计金价今年将延续升势，可能达到20年新高。金价去年的升势反映出美元兑欧元的下降幅度。
许多黄金投资者将黄金视为一种货币，也将黄金视为经济及政治危机时的避风港。但在全球经济正在复苏之时，金价却不寻常地强劲上涨。自1999年8月达到每盎司251美元的20年新低后，金价已上涨近70%。当时，投资者纷纷避开黄金，与受到追捧的科技股和网络股相比，投资于黄金并不盛行。
随着世界黄金协会去年推出黄金担保投资产品，黄金作为可选投资工具的吸引力不断增强。该协会在伦敦证券交易所推出上市产品后的前三周内，投资者购买了大约23吨黄金。
分析师们表示，鉴于2002年投资者仅净买入125吨黄金，上述购买量对这种名为黄金证券(Gold Bullion Securities)的黄金产品而言是一个良好开端。
黄金交易员们表示，金价2004年达到450美元的可能性似乎日益增强，或许可上行至500美元的高位。过去20年内，金价仅有数月上破500美元。
然而，其它贵重金属在2003年的表现比黄金还要出色。银价上升了25%，自1998年5月后首次达到每盎司6美元的价位。
