Here's the title we used for the first Gold This Week (GTW) commentary of 2009 posted on January 3, 2009:
As you can see on the chart above, Gold priced in US Dollars rose from $US 884.30 to $US 1096.20 over the year. The $US Gold price hit the $US 1000 level for the second time ever (the first was in March 2008) in February 2009. Then, after another correction, it regained the $US 1000 level in mid September 2009. The last time that Gold traded for LESS THAN $US 1000 an ounce was on September 29, 2009. Several reputable Gold analysts have stated that Gold will "never" trade below $US 1000 again. "Never" is a very long time indeed, but as 2009 ends, all the factors that propelled Gold above $US 1000 are there in full force as we enter 2010.
As you will have probably seen by now, 2009 marks the ninth straight year in which Gold has gone up in US Dollar terms. Here's the record:
On a percentage basis, Gold had its third best year over the decade in 2009. The best year was 2007, the first year of the Global Financial Crisis. The second best year was 2002, the first year of the $US Gold bull market. At its $US 1218 closing high for the year a month ago, Gold was actually up by 37.78 percent over the year, but the big correction in the run up to the Christmas/New Years holiday put paid to that.
The entire record so far:
Not bad for a "lost decade".
(Chart appears here in original analysis)
A new low was hit on the chart when spot future Gold closed in New York at $US 705 on November 13 last year. This pushed the chart two "Xs" below the $US 715 support level established in late October and equalled early in November. Then came the first big turnaround - and upturn on the chart - of November 14. The region between $US 700-720 firmed as SOLID support for Gold. That support "zone" was emphatically confirmed as Gold rose by just over $US 110 between November 13 and November 28 last year.
On February 20, as you know, Gold made it all the way back to the $US 1000 level. But it did NOT break through the $US 1000 barrier. Until this week, what had been traced out on this chart is the right shoulder of a gigantic "reverse" head and shoulders formation. But on September 16, spot future Gold CLOSED at $US 1020.20. That breaks decisively above the $US 1000 "double top" on this chart and revalidates the entire bull market - from the bottom. Late in September, had the downturn on the chart, only to see Gold burst above its September 16 high to put the final re-validation on the entire $US bull market in early October. The correction over the past month, which has given up a bit more than half half the gains since then, does not change that fact.
In February 2009, spot future Gold closed above the $US 1000 level for the second time. While the close did not quite equal that of March 2008 in $US terms, it set new all time highs in terms of many other currencies - the Yen being an exception. That was because of the recovery of the US Dollar which had taken place since March 2008.
On September 11, 2009, spot future Gold closed above the $US 1000 level for the third time. It has remained above the $US 1000 level continually since the end of September and rose more than $US 200 almost straight up before the December 4 correction. Now, almost a month later, a bit more than half that rise has been given back.
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Gold priced in Japanese Yen has joined $US Gold in the plus column. After getting into the plus column as the $US Gold price peaked, the Euro Gold price has slipped back into the "red" since early December. The most "extreme" example remains the Aussie Dollar Gold price. at current (December 31, 2009) exchange rates, it would take a Gold price of $US 1414.30 for the Aussie Gold price to equal the all time high it set on February 20, 2009.