Gold Buying may rise after Opec official calls for $70 oil

A senior figure at the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has called for oil prices to hit $70 per barrel.

Secretary general Abdalla el-Badri has explained that the current levels of about $50 per barrel are "insufficient for continued investment" considering the cost of exploration projects.

However, the news will be welcomed by anyone with a Gold Investment, as a sharp upturn in oil prices has often correlated with a strong move from Gold Prices in the past.

Ben Westmore, an energy analyst with National Bank Australia in Melbourne, told the Associated Press: "For high-cost projects, you probably do need a higher price level to be economically viable.

"Once activity in the global economy comes back, we could see supply constraints leading to higher prices. People are starting to think longer term about the supply side."

Mr. El-Badri's comments come after the World Gold Council claimed last week that gold investment appetite remained strong during the first quarter of 2009.

Natalie Dempster, the group's head of North American investment and one of the authors of its latest Gold Investment Digest, has explained that the yellow metal will continue to be popular in the financial crisis.

"One reason the financial crisis has been so devastating for investors is that many alternative assets did not deliver on the promise that they would provide portfolio diversification," she said.

"The same cannot be said for gold. Gold has been one of the few assets that has genuinely provided investors with diversification throughout the financial crisis."

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