Price of gold expected to keep rising but at slower pace

AFTER an eventful 2010 where gold prices rose by over $300 (€225) an ounce, the prospect for the coming year suggests the markets will see more of the same but possibly at a slower rate.

Having closed at $1,085 on the last trading day of 2009, the precious metal enjoyed one of its most remarkable years in decades as it rose to $1,421 on November 9.

In a year where the future of the euro was openly debated, the US Federal Reserve printed an extra $600 billion in quantitative easing and as worries about a full-blown depression persisted, investors chose to switch to tangible assets on worries that the value of paper money would significantly decrease.