Gold Climbs Back Toward $400 as Traders Anticipate Inflation

Gold prices climbed Monday to the highest levels since August, with experts saying a wave of buying will lift the precious metal to $400 an ounce by year’s end.

On New York’s Commodity Exchange, gold for current delivery raced up $3.80 to close at $387.00, the highest since Aug. 5.

The buying spilled over to other precious metals. Silver for current delivery gained 10.4 cents to end at $5.127 an ounce on the Comex. January platinum added $6.10 to $388.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Heavy overnight buying from Japan and the Middle East, as well as U.S. fund buying, helped push gold higher and set the stage for a shot at $400 an ounce, analysts said.

Gold hit a post-Gulf War high of $414 an ounce Aug. 2 on heavy speculative buying, but the bubble burst a few days later. The metal headed back toward the seven-year low that was hit in March, sinking as low as $343 an ounce Sept. 13.

The experts say this time, however, that the climb has been steady and supported by a wide range of buyers, indicating that the gains are more likely to stick.

Analysts said fund traders have been piling into gold and other precious metals in anticipation that inflation will accompany a global economic recovery.